NHS digital passport scheme being accelerated to meet the challenges of Covid-19 workforce needs

Liaison Workforce on NHS digital passports

As previously reported, the government has been working towards the development of a NHS digital passport which will allow medical staff to work across trusts or health boards. This scheme has been accelerated in response to the challenge of Covid-19, in order to enable essential workers to move with ease between NHS organisations where needed.

A recent webinar hosted by Digital Health discussed the scope and process of the scheme, and estimated that up to two days are lost through duplication of employment administration and core skills training whenever staff move between trusts. The development of the NHS digital passport, which staff will hold on their own smartphones, aims to reduce the time spent on manual processes needed to on-board staff, and also provides a legal agreement and verification of key employment checks to ensure the member of staff can work at another location safely.

Digital Staff Passports

An existing programme, Digital Staff Passports, is being rolled out in the interim to address the challenges of Covid-19, including assisting the staffing of super-surge Nightingale hospitals or cover workforce shortages caused by staff being absent due to coronavirus-related illness or having to self-isolate.

Initially, the passport will support collaborative bank apps, including Liaison Workforce’s TempRE solution. It will enable bank workers to fulfil shifts across neighbouring organisations, providing identification and employment checks for workers and enabling workforce management teams to access a greater pool of professionals with increased ease.

Future planned developments for the digital passport include integrations with eRostering and other workforce systems to ensure the full flow of real-time data.

How can Liaison help?

To find out more about how a collaborative bank could work for your trust or health board in order to meet staffing demands during the Covid-19 outbreak, and how digital passports will increase the speed of workforce deployment across a collaborative bank, please contact Laurence Ansell on [email protected]