Effective rostering and staffing levels

There is considerable evidence that reduced staffing levels and skill mix compromise care, and what constitutes safe staffing levels in nursing has always been a hotly debated issue. While the Francis Report effect led to 24,000 full time employment (FTE) nursing posts being created, the resulting £3.7bn agency bill was staggering. Agency capping has gone some way towards reducing this, but a failure to address workforce planning is fundamentally responsible for the situation and needs concentrated effort by all stakeholders. In the meantime, it is critical that the current workforce is managed and deployed effectively to minimise the need for agency staff. eRostering is an important workforce tool that can deliver benefits in visibility and control, increased shift fill rates, enhanced essential performance indicators, reduced cost and safe operation. It is, however, a tool that needs managing and sense checking, and the information needs to be used to inform decisions at every level for it to be valuable. This paper outlines some of the key elements of good rostering practice that, together with good management practice, will support the organisation and its staff in achieving efficiencies while ensuring that patient care is not compromised.