The winter season is usually the busiest in the UK healthcare sector, with this year being no exception due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Being short staffed can have a very negative impact on both staff and patients. It can also create difficulties in respect to coping with current workloads - and trying to process backlogs that were created earlier in the year when COVID-19 first hit. Temporary nurses can provide support to your staff and help ensure continuity of care even when so much still remains uncertain. Therefore, we here at Last Call Healthcare have put together a list of why temporary nurses can provide crucial support this winter:
 
Providing immediate relief - Temporary nurses are able to arrive in a situation and begin work straight away, without needing training or time to integrate. Their skills and experience enable them to hit the ground running to help provide relief wherever it is required, whether this is in coping with a wave of COVID cases or filling the gap where other staff members are off sick or isolating. This can give your team immediate relief if they are really feeling the pressure.
 
A resource for skills shortages - There could be many reasons why you currently have skill gaps and working with temporary nursing staff can help you to fill them. Most temporary nurses have a wealth of skills and experience and are highly qualified. If you have skills shortages due to slow recruitment, then working with temporary nurses can enable you to fill these straight away and avoid providing inconsistent patient care or falling behind on key targets.
 
Ensuring safety and standards are maintained - When staff is too stretched, mistakes can be made. Jobs may be rushed and people can push themselves to breaking point to try and get through an endless list of tasks. Working with temporary nursing staff means that you won’t have to push your current staff to breaking point. Whether you are struggling with the increased pressure of winter or the workforce is smaller than usual, temporary nurses can step in and provide the cover that you need to ensure that safety and standards are being maintained across the board.
 
Keeping spirits up - It’s not easy to work in healthcare at this time of year, especially in the middle of a pandemic. However, everything tends to feel a lot worse when there are staff shortages and people are really stretched. This can have a very negative impact on morale and may also lead to burn out and sick days that can reduce the size of your staff even further. Temporary nurses can help to prevent this from happening, bringing fresh enthusiasm and energy into an environment and ensuring that everyone has the support that they need.
 
During the winter season, the healthcare sector comes under an incredible amount of pressure - and that’s before you even take the impact of the pandemic into account. Utilising temporary nursing staff can help to support survival during these unprecedented times, ensuring that your team will grow and thrive in the New Year.