Grip and Control of Agency Spend. Delivered.

Eradicating Standard Placements and Increasing Savings

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Special focus project on standard placements reduced spend by £497K; a 52% reduction in 3 months

ADE Net Savings totalled £248k between June ‘24 and July ’25 – a 320% increase on the previous year

A total of 9 long-term Standard Placements eradicated

The Challenge

Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust had been facing several challenges in fully realising the benefits of Agency Direct Employment (ADE) since first introducing TempRE in January 2024, resulting in a continued reliance on a significant number of staff paid via unchallenged Standard Placement (SP).

Misunderstandings around the use of ADE contributed to difficulties in reducing long-term SP workers, while ongoing NHS wide pressures to achieve financial savings added further strain.

Inefficient temporary staff workflow processes within the Trust hindered effective workflow, and the underuse of the TempRE system plus its available functionality and wrap-around services, limited their ability to maintain strong grip and control over workforce management.

The Solution

To support the Trust with fully utilising the TempRE system, we introduced a collaborative and structured approach to improving control over medical spend and workforce management. The Trust recruited a Flexible Working Team Leader to focus specifically on medical staffing costs, supported closely by our expert Client Services Consultant through ongoing guidance, monthly operational reviews, and on-site training for wider teams.

Together with our Client Services Manager and Agency Engagement Team, a comprehensive education and myth-busting initiative around ADE was delivered, empowering the Flexible Working Team to confidently transition SP workers to ADE placements.

The Trust also implemented TempRE’s SP blocker to strengthen governance and oversight, while fully leveraging the available support services through close collaboration with the Agency Engagement Team to build stronger relationships with agencies and enhance medical worker supply.

The Agency Engagement team proactively informed Personal Services suppliers of the new ADE process via TempRE, with onboarding and training delivered by our Regional Customer Services Consultant.

On the scheduled go-live date in September 2023, all Social Workers were successfully migrated from non-ADE arrangements to ADE bookings on TempRE.

The Outcomes

As a result of our continued support, 9 Standard Placements were eradicated, enabling the following savings and spend reductions between April and June 2025:

Reduced total spend by £497k, overall reducing spend by 51.6%
ADE Net Savings of £60k, overall increasing savings by 149.2%
Missed savings decreased by 87.1% on the previous year

Between June 2024 and July 2025, the Trust saw ADE NET savings increase by 320% against the previous year, to a total of £248k.

The Trust’s understanding and use of ADE have greatly improved, with increased daily activity on the TempRE system.

Alongside financial savings, communication between departments and the Flexible Working Team has become more effective and collaborative around recruitment and vacancies.

This achievement demonstrates the power of collaboration and innovation in workforce management. By embracing new approaches and working closely with our partners, we’ve not only delivered significant financial savings but also strengthened governance and improved communication across teams. These changes are helping us build a more sustainable and efficient workforce model, ensuring we can continue to provide high-quality care for our patients.

Karen Phillips

Executive Director of People & OD

The support received from Liaison is unmatched; there truly is no such thing as a ‘silly’ question. The system is so easy to use. Ella, Amy and Kate would always make time to help me. Monthly reports are very detailed and the summary provided in the body of the email is a delight to see.

Graham Hickson

Flexible Workforce Team Manager

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