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REC Healthcare Meeting highlights management crucial if NHS to maintain standards of care in a changing healthcare landscape

Over a 100 specialist recruitment agencies met with experts last week to look at how the reforms unleashed by the Health and Social Care Act are playing out in the sector. Speakers from the Government Procurement Service (GPS), Health Trust Europe, the London Procurement Programme (LPP), NHS Employers and the UK Home Care Association (UKHCA) discussed how commissioning and resourcing are developing in a changing health and social care environment.

Members took full advantage of the opportunity to engage speakers on these topics-- raising their concerns on such issues as the revalidation of doctors, safeguarding standards at local authority level, the construction of resourcing frameworks and the emergence of new VAT models in the NHS.  With the NHS and local authorities striving to meet efficiency savings, all agreed that effective management of the workforce is a top priority and that standards of care must not be sacrificed in order to reduce costs. 

REC Healthcare will be taking forward the concerns of members through its membership of the Department of Health’s National Procurement Council and on-going dialogue with key bodies across the NHS Confederation. After the meeting, I caught up with Andrew Horner, Chair of REC Healthcare:

“Effective management of the workforce and other resources is essential if quality care is to be maintained across our sector. We appreciate this is a difficult time for the NHS and local authorities as they try and make efficiencies. However, just because budgets need to be cut does not mean demand has fallen. With an ageing population and other pressures, the health service needs a motivated, flexible and cost-effective workforce more than ever.”

“We continue to build constructive relationships with the Department of Health and bodies such as NHS Employers. They acknowledge the key role our agencies play in supplying staff to help the NHS cover absences, meet spikes in demand and provide the safe, professional service the public expects from their health service.”

Specialist healthcare recruiters interested in joining the REC Healthcare group should contact the REC on 020 7009 2100 or via info@rec.uk.com.