Doctor-led HealthTech company Patchwork.Health and digital passports provider Truu have announced a new partnership to enable the rapid and flexible deployment of key NHS staff members during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The partnership will enable clinicians and support staff to be deployed to whichever NHS Trust has the greatest need, without the lag-time of several days usually required for ID and qualification checks to be carried out.
Over the coming weeks, demand for doctors and nurses will spike in different locations across the UK in quick succession. As a result, there will be an urgent need for staff with the relevant skill-sets to be redeployed rapidly in line with daily fluctuating needs.
Patchwork.Health’s digital platform, which is already being used by NHS Trusts across the UK and has been made free for the duration of the pandemic, allows hospitals to directly source qualified healthcare professionals available to work in order to fill urgent shift vacancies, ensuring hospitals have the staff they need to deal with this period of unprecedented demand.
This saves thousands of hours of administrative work and offer hospitals a UK-wide pool of clinicians to maintain safe staffing levels.
Truu’s digital staff passports enables healthcare workers to accumulate credentials issued from their home hospitals which are then shared remotely and securely with new hospitals. Normally, the time to onboard at a new healthcare organisation can take up to two months. This interface can make it happen in as little as two minutes.
Truu’s digital passport provides an essential complement to Patchwork’s offering during the current crisis, as it enables instantaneous validation of staff identity details, PPE training and Fit Test assessments – enabling rapid onboarding of key workers across NHS Trusts.
The joint service is available to be rolled out completely to all NHS Trusts who request it. With over 3,500 COVID-related additional vacancies being posted on the Patchwork.Health network by NHS Trusts in the last week alone, the need for a unified response has never been greater.
Dr Anas Nader, CEO and Co-Founder of Patchwork.Health, said: “With the NHS now operating under unprecedented strain, it has never been more important for all players in the healthtech sector to pull together and redouble our efforts to tackle COVID-19. That’s why we’ve made access to our COVID-19 solution completely free for the duration of the crisis.
“As a doctor, I understand the logistical complexities which can sometimes delay trained professionals from delivering life-saving care, and I believe that Patchwork.Health and Truu can together provide a solution for the NHS to enable rapid redeployment of clinicians to where the need is greatest.
“If the UK is to defeat the threat of coronavirus, speed of response is everything – and that’s exactly what we want to support with. The importance of allowing hospitals to seamlessly call upon a vast network of trained healthcare workers for immediate service cannot be overstated – delays of several days are no longer sustainable and could make a life-changing difference to patients.”
Dr Manreet Nijjar, CEO and Co-founder of Truu, added: “The Truu team are immensely proud to be joining forces with Patchwork.Health to provide an essential service to the NHS at this pivotal moment in a national emergency. Truu’s staff digital passport will enable NHS staff to seamlessly move between Trusts and temporary hospitals and address staff shortages.
“We have been strengthening our digital platforms and information networks to prepare them to deal with this accelerated demand, and our user-friendly app now gives key healthcare workers the ability to prove who they are instantly, securely and digitally, and means Trusts can recruit the staff they need, wherever they need them in full confidence.
“Truu’s software has the potential to save a large percentage of the 40,000 clinical days and £200m of NHS budget lost to pre-employment identity checks every single year.
“Patchwork Health and Truu’s services and combined expertise will together accelerate seamless integration between NHS Trusts – with life-saving impact.”