NHS Continuing Healthcare is a specialist package of health and social care provided and funded solely by the NHS for individuals aged 18 or over with a primary health need due to a disability, accident, or illness. Eligible individuals must be assessed by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals, which includes a qualified, registered nurse with expertise in the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare.
An Integrated Care Board (ICB) identified a pressing need to fill 40+ WTE CHC Nurse vacancies to meet the growing demand for high-quality care for patients with complex needs. These vacancies represented a significant challenge in a competitive recruitment market for highly qualified professionals.
The Chief People Officer at the ICB recognised that a focused and tailored recruitment campaign was necessary to successfully generate interest and attract suitable candidates. The aim was to fill the vacancies with permanent staff to avoid the costly reliance on agency workers, ensuring continuity of care for patients.
MIAA provided independent support including designed a tailored resourcing and candidate generation pilot programme to enhance the recruitment process, stimulate the market, generate candidate interest, and ultimately fill the Nurse vacancies. Key components of the recruitment solution:
This collaboration allowed for flexibility, quick decision-making, and alignment with the ICB's staffing goals.
High Levels of Candidate Engagement
The recruitment campaign successfully generated significant interest in the CHC Nurse roles. By leveraging a tailored approach combining search and advertising on targeted portals, MIAA Solutions effectively attracted a large pool of qualified candidates.
Reduction in Agency Spend
By filling the vacancies with permanent staff, the ICB successfully reduced its reliance on costly agency workers. This allowed the organisation to allocate resources more effectively, improving budget management and long-term staffing stability. In addition, proving that the NHS can recruit for the NHS without the need for recruitment agency intervention.
Improved Recruitment Process Efficiency
The weekly reporting and progress updates provided valuable insights into the recruitment market, candidate availability, and response rates. This data allowed the ICB to adjust its approach quickly, ensuring a more efficient and streamlined recruitment process.
Successful Placement of Qualified Nurses
The detailed screening and shortlisting process ensured that only the most qualified and suitable candidates were selected for the vacancies. This contributed to improved care quality and continuity for patients.
This is a proven solution which due to high levels of candidate engagement each time generates a surplus of relevantly qualified candidates wanting to work in the sector, this therefore provides the opportunity to share candidates with other clients and sectors to fill vacancies and to replace agency staff with permanent staff.
This project was initiated and competed prior the current recruitment freeze.
For more information about our services contact Andy Maloney, Director of Delivery - Workforce.