HOSPITALS
THE DIGITAL WORKFORCE AND THE NHS
We take a look at how a digital workforce operates within a busy NHS Trust .
WRITTEN BY : LEILA HAWKINS
James Paget University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust , based in the resort town of Gorleston on Sea , Norfolk , is the UK ’ s most easterly hospital , serving one of the country ’ s fastest aging demographics . The Trust employs in excess of 4,000 staff making them one of the largest employers in the area ; and since 2010 has been developing a Digital Workforce Team supported by electronic rostering and people management software created by global tech company Allocate .
In 2010 , the Trust first introduced electronic roster software called eRoster to organise nursing off-duty rotas . This includes arranging cover for nurses ' consecutive days off , while taking into account complex skill mixes , a fair share of weekends , and when to assign early and late shifts .
Fast forward to 2021 and the Digital Workforce Team has rolled out eRoster to all 4,000 staff – including doctors , allied health professionals and even housekeepers .
Temporary or Bank Staff use the system to view and book available Bank work and the eRoster system now interfaces for payroll , pulling data for unsocial and overtime enhancement pay straight from staff ’ s rosters into the Oracle- based database system ESR ( Electronic Staff Record ).
For doctors and medical staff , the Digital Workforce Team has gone one step further and supported their use of eJob Plan . eJob Plan , developed by Zircadian ( a subsidiary of Allocate ), enables the hospital ’ s divisional specialties , from Cardiology , Urology and Orthopaedics , to create personalised , activity-based job plans for each doctor .
42 October 2021