Interims and other temporary staff could play a vital role in helping the NHS cope with a staffing crisis it has been claimed.
A recent study has underlined major resourcing challenges in the NHS, with 45% of those surveyed believing that there were not enough staff for them to do their jobs properly.
Commenting on the 7th Annual NHS Staff Survey for the Care Quality Commission, Tom Hadley, Director of External Relations at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said unmanageable workloads create a downward spiral of increased stress and absence rates which add to the resourcing challenge.
NHS Trusts need to urgently review the allocation of staff and call on extra resource from agency and locum staff to fill gaps where necessary and ensure front line care needs are met.
As well as helping employers, flexible resourcing is also of benefit for individual workers in the NHS and these staffing arrangements must be seen as part of the solution for cost-effective workforce management, Hadley added.
The REC, which represents many agencies that find work for interim managers, recently launched a Public Sector Resourcing campaign to highlight the contribution of flexible staff to the delivery of front line services.