i did temp work for derby pct and emas ambulance service at different times quite a few years ago admitedly but in both roles i was posting the fleet cars to either wages or perks as some posts attracted a company car. also many nursing staff went purely bank so they could pick and choose their hours etc. it was a scam basically they got paid more than a regular scale with less responsibility and more flexibility. the nhs could save a fortune by recruiting a pool of surplus staff to cover absence and do away with bank altogether but its a cosy monopoly run by ex nhs nurses and hr/union staff. i did a cost analysis based on the trusts average bank usage and they could have saved a fortune but hr and the unions kicked off about it. 3 weeks later they decided they didnt need temp post i was filling although the woman i was standing in for was still on maternity leave and they advertised it again 2 weeks later. i am afraid a lot of the nhs’s woes are self inflicted.
Well said Mitch. I completely agree. I was blighted by the ‘bank’ issue as well. I’m glad that I’m not the only person on this forum who has first hand experience of working in this environment but, of course, there are always those who know far more! There’s an awful lot more that I could say about what I learned but it’s best left unsaid, other than that your final comment is so true and the pedestal that the NHS has been put over the last few years will do nothing to address these issues.