Locums Nest, the provider of a digital workforce solution, has launched a new tool called “Locum’s Nest Rota” that aims to provide scheduling support for frontline medics.
The launch follows news from last month, when the Department of Health and Social Care announced £7.5 million in funding to support digital shift scheduling across 38 NHS trusts. This investment comes as part of a £26 million national fund to support the delivery of e-rostering systems by the end of 2021, and follows an independent review into rostering tools that highlighted 34 minutes each day could be saved for staff.
The company, Locum’s Nest, was founded in 2015 by Dr Nicholas Andreou and Dr Ahmed Shahrabani, with an aim to help their hospitals fill understaffed wards with qualified temporary staff. The new tool launched this week aims to support trusts to adopt a digital approach for rostering and ‘provide flexibility for staff’, the company said.
Co-Founder of Locum’s Nest, Dr Nicholas Andreou, said: “It’s no secret that shift work in the healthcare industry can be extremely tough on the work-life balance of its employees and this usually starts with an unsuitable roster. Systems such as Locum’s Nest Rota, that allow rostering to be a collaborative process to balance both patient demands and employee needs, can start to address this well-known problem.”
“While training-grade doctors tend to work template rota patterns, we see a future where medical staffing is driven by fluctuating patient demand.”
Chairman Allen Swan added: “Having led the growth of Allocate Software from three NHS trusts to well over 175 during my tenure, it brings me great pleasure to see Locum’s Nest replicating Allocate’s success in nurse rostering across medics rostering in the NHS. Having seen Locum’s Nest Rota, I am impressed at the level of detail, governance and above all usability of the medical e-roster and have no doubt that this will become the de facto rostering platform of choice for all NHS clinicians.”
