The Department of Health and Social Care has announced £7.5 million in funding to support digital shift scheduling across 38 NHS trusts.
The investment comes as part of a £26 million national fund to support the delivery of e-rostering systems by the end of 2021.
A study conducted in May 2018 found the use of e-rostering, route planning and geographic matching of clinical resource could save up to 34 minutes per clinician each day.
The tools also support flexibility; clinicians can select shifts digitally, and match their specific skillsets to the right shifts.
Minister of State for Care Helen Whately said: “People are at the heart of the NHS. Our doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are the greatest asset we have. I’m determined to help NHS trusts get the best out of our talented healthcare workers and give patients the care they deserve.”
“We’re delivering on another commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan to support the use of electronic rosters. E-rostering is a crucial tool to make the most of our dedicated healthcare professionals’ time for looking after patients – something which is needed more than ever during this pandemic.”
Funding allocation by NHS organisation:
| NHS organisation | Bid type | Professional group | Region | Sector | Total award (‘000) | Additional trusts involved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire Community Services | e-Rostering and e-Scheduling Implementation | Nurses and AHPs | East of England | Community | £74 | |
| Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Medic Rostering | Doctors | East of England | Acute | £290 | |
| James Paget University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Norfolk and Waveney Collaborative Bank | Multi-professional | East of England | Acute | £520 | Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust |
| James Paget University NHS Foundation Trust | Community e-Rostering Project – includes interface with patient information system | Multi-professional | East of England | Community | See above | |
| Sutton Health and Care (SHC) and Surrey Downs Health and Care (SDHC)– hosted by Epsom and St Helier Trust | E-Allocate – SHC and SDHC (ESHT) | Multi-professional | London | Community | £36 | SWL, Surrey Heartlands (for Surrey Downs Health and Care) |
| King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Medical e-Rostering Project | Doctors | London | Acute | £336 | |
| University College London Hospital | e-Rostering System | Doctors | London | Acute | £203 | |
| Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust | Medical Rostering Improvement | Doctors | London | Mental health | £62 | West London NHS Trust |
| East London NHS Foundation Trust | Medics Rostering | Doctors | London | Mental health | £190 | |
| Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust | AHP job planning and rostering | AHPs | London | Acute | £218 | |
| University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust | e-roster for AHPsand medics | AHPs and doctors | Midlands | Acute | £154 | |
| The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust | Competency-based rostering | Doctors | Midlands | Acute | £127 | |
| George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust | e-Rostering | Doctors | Midlands | Acute | £386 | |
| Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust | Rostering and job-planning for community staff | Multi-professional | Midlands | Community | £111 | |
| Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust | Community Workforce Deployment System Project | Multi-professional | Midlands | Specialist | £237 | |
| The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust | AHP and Pharmacy | AHPs and pharmacists | Midlands | Acute | £491 | |
| Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust | e-Rostering System Project – North Cumbria Inpatient Wards and Trust Wide Community Services | Multi-professional | North East and Yorkshire | Mental health | £417 | |
| Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust | Medical Workforce e-Rostering Project | Doctors | North East and Yorkshire | Acute | £140 | |
| York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Medical e-Rostering Project | Doctors | North East and Yorkshire | Acute | £258 | |
| Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust | Integrated Scheduling System | Multi-professional | North East and Yorkshire | Acute | £200 | |
| The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust | Improving Workforce Deployment Project (IWDP) | Nurses | North West | Specialist | £280 | |
| Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust | Looking Beyond the Roster Care Needs First – Mersey Care and North West Boroughs | Nurses and AHPs | North West | Community | £300 | North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust |
| North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust | Community Workforce Deployment System | Nurses and AHPs | North West | Acute | £618 | |
| Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Medical e-Rostering | Doctors | North West | Acute | £133 | |
| Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust | e-Rostering and e-Job Planning for Medical Workforce | Doctors | North West | Specialist | £97 | |
| Lancashire teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Collaborative AHP Staff Bank | AHPs | North West | Acute | £505 | Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundations Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, Morcombe Bay Foundation Trust |
| Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust | e-Rostering Project for Clinical Professionals | AHPs, pharmacists and HCS (non-medical) | North West | Acute | £367 | |
| Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust | e-rostering | Multi-professional | North West | Mental health | £116 | |
| Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust | Clinical e-Rostering | Doctors | South East | Acute | £118 | |
| Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust | Medical e-Rostering Solution | Doctors | South East | Acute | £285 | |
| Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Workforce Deployment System Project | Doctors | South East | Acute | £220 | |
| Total | £7,489 |
