Atereo Bank Staff Messaging delivers cost savings at TSDFT
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust (TSDFT), like every NHS Trust, has problems with staffing.
Every week the Temporary Staffing Team needs to fill around 2200 individual shifts, and this is a constant battle.
One of the Temporary Staffing Team’s methods of communicating with their Staff Bank was via SMS text messaging and, because of the sheer numbers of shifts they needed to fill, they were spending a considerable amount of money on sending SMS text messages.
The Trust needed a drastic reduction in this expenditure.
When Atereo, a longstanding supplier to the Trust, presented its digital messaging platform to the Trust, it quickly became apparent that it could be adapted to deliver Bank Staff Messaging, allowing the Trust to make the SMS savings it needed.
Atereo worked with TSDFT to analyse their requirements and tailor its digital messaging platform to meet the Trust’s specific needs.
One particular requirement that emerged during this process was the importance of ensuring that any changes to working practices did not increase the administrative burden on the Temporary Staffing Team.
Working with TSDFT, Atereo adapted its digital messaging platform to support Bank Staff Messaging and to ensure there was no additional administrative overhead on the Temporary Staffing Team.
The intended benefits of the new solution were:
After a very short period of time, it became clear that Atereo Bank Staff Messaging was delivering far more benefits than originally expected, and an even stronger ROI.
Atereo Bank Staff Messaging was sending over 300,000 messages per month and the Trust saw an 85% drop in its expenditure on SMS Text Messages.
TSDFT’s Temporary Staffing Team also saw far more benefits in terms of reduced administration than originally expected, which will save the Trust an estimated additional £8,000 per annum.
One member of the Temporary Staffing Team commented:
“When doing the 6-week shifts, I now spend 20 minutes or less, whereas it used to take hours and hours.”
The feedback from Bank members was positive, with most members finding the App very easy to use.
In addition, the Trust realised other benefits, including:
TSDFT are delighted with the Atereo Bank Staff Messaging solution, particularly as it has delivered them an ROI in under 3 months.
Gary Hotine, HIS Director, commented:
“It is really nice to have a project where all the intended benefits were realised.”
