24 Oct Perm RN Agency Work Economy in Ireland, England, and Wales
When looking for nurse agency work in Ireland, England, and Wales, it’s important to understand the permanent nurse agency work economy. When you know how hiring trends differ in the UK and by public and private recruitment, you can better ascertain where you should look for work, how likely you are to land the job, and how much you can expect to get paid.
The term perm RN agency work economy describes the state of healthcare hiring–hiring and turnover rates, the number of agencies, wages, and how the healthcare agency work economy compares to that of the public healthcare system.
In this post, we’ll compare the agency work economies for permanent RN work in England, Ireland, and Wales. We’ll also discuss how the agency work economy compares to the public healthcare sector’s. Lastly, we’ll advise on how to land perm RN agency work.
What Do We Mean by Perm Agency Work?
Agencies can’t help you find renewable contracts that last for years, definition permanent work. By permanent work, we mean one-time fixed contracts. In the industry, they’re called block bookings.
For instance, let’s say Sunshine NHS needs to fill a position for 6 months and you’ve signed on with Proximity Healthcare, a healthcare recruitment agency. Sunshine NHS needs a nurse to work 37.5 hours a week. So, Proximity Healthcare approaches you with the offer and you accept. At the end of the contract, Sunshine NHS could approach you to work for them permanently, independent of Proximity Healthcare. Technically, agencies could land you a permanent role, but you likely wouldn’t be paid as much as you would be by an agency.
Let’s talk about perm RN agency work and its place in the NHS.
Perm RN Agency Work Across the UK
Since the UK (England, Ireland, and Wales in this post) has a standardized healthcare system, one would expect it to have similar healthcare economies, right? Actually, no.
England, Ireland, and Wales each have their own legislative frameworks, policies, and priorities that are largely based on current spending and health outcomes. They all use the NHS, but North Ireland’s NHS is known as the Health and Social Care (HSC) system because of the integration of health and social care services. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll refer to all healthcare systems as the NHS.
The House of Commons’s NHS workforce briefing reported that 10% of the NHS’s vacancies were those of nurses. NHS spending on agency staff, particularly nurses, has been sharply rising, increasing by 50% in 2018-2019 and a further 20% in November 2022, says the BBC. Agency work commissions are steadily increasing in the UK as demand outweighs supply to fill gaps in rotas. The Guardian wrote that the NHS across the UK spends a whopping £10 billion on temporary staff.
From the NHS’ June 2023 Long-Term Workforce Plan, it can be inferred that the volume of agency worker vacancies will only increase. The NHS estimates that without immediate action, there will be a shortage of up to 360,000 healthcare staff by 2036/2037. We can expect the agency work economy to boom, especially in light of Ara Darzi’s remarks. In September, the Lord released a report that noted just how dire the state of NHS had become– that it must “reform or die,”–that the workforce is whittling away.
Why Does the NHS Rely on Temp Staff So Heavily?
Like most healthcare systems globally, the NHS faces a staffing shortage that heavily impacts its reliance on agency staff. Only 26% of NHS staff state there is enough staff at their organisation. Moreover, England–and the UK at large–faces a steadily growing elderly population with multiple health conditions, more diagnoses of long-term illness, and more children being diagnosed with mental or learning disabilities, which puts more pressure on the NHS, in turn fueling the nurse burnout fire. Most NHS staff say the shortage is directly impacting patient care.
Britain and Agency Work
According to IBIS World, a leading market research distributor, England has the densest population of agencies. London (27 businesses, one of which is Proximity Healthcare), South East (18 businesses) and East of England (11 businesses) have the most agencies.
Wages and Economic Impact
A well-known nursing site reports that there is roughly a £46 difference cited in hourly pay between one agency nurse and an NHS nurse on the same ward. The same report says that on average, agency nurses cost £100,000 per year. In comparison, the average staff nurse earns £20.65 per hour (Indeed) and £37,000 to £42,000 yearly (Nurses.co.uk). The NHS spends 11% of its total yearly budget on bank and agency staff, with 1 in 10 roles going unfilled (Guardian). Another 39% is spent on permanent NHS staff (half of which are international nurses). The agency staffing sector has made record revenue.
Perm Nurse Agency Work in England, Ireland, and Wales
Nurses can take advantage of this by signing up with agencies for nursing work. They can earn substantially more than as a permanent staff nurse (remember the £46 hourly wage difference?).
Many nurses have left the staff nursing sector and transitioned to all-agency nursing. They sign up with multiple agencies, taking on shifts as they come and reaping the benefits of the staffing shortage. This way, nurses can use the difference in wages to work less, thus suffering less burnout and being able to deliver better care.
Proximity Healthcare is one such healthcare staffing agency. Though based in London, we source nurses throughout England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Nurses choose us because of our hard-working team, integrity, and commitment to protecting nurses.
We fiercely negotiate for the wages, shifts, and benefits you would like on your behalf. In addition, we polish up your CV and let you know as soon as shifts become available. Never miss out on an awesome shift opportunity again!
If you would like to partner with Proximity Healthcare, contact us. We would love to help you find perm RN agency work in the UK!