'Huge response' from former NHS workers in Yorkshire to fight the pandemic

A study by shift planning software provider, WhosOffice, found that 2,150 former NHS workers have returned to the National Health Service since March 2020 to help Britain fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research concludes that 11 per cent of all the UK’s returning professionals are working at a hospital in Yorkshire, which means the region has a higher number of returners than every other part of the UK except Sussex and London.

A spokesman said: "Many have come out of retirement to support their NHS colleagues, or transferred from private practice under the Bringing Staff Back scheme."

WhosOffice contacted 228 NHS Foundation Trusts to gather this data under the Freedom of Information Act (2000), receiving feedback from 76 trusts.

Of those who responded, all but nine confirmed at least one member of staff has returned to their hospitals since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Some hospital trusts have attracted more than 200 returning health professionals, including 65 staff in Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and 61 in Hull University Teaching Hospitals.

Reg Groombridge, Co-Founder and Director at WhosOffice, commented: “Healthcare workers are the pride of Britain.

"Given their dedicated, compassionate nature, it’s not surprising that thousands have returned to their roots this year, to help the NHS care for those worst affected by COVID-19, and it’s fantastic to see such a great response from health professionals in Yorkshire.”

To maximise the impact of these additional resources, WhosOffice has been working with a leading hospital trust to pilot its shift scheduling software.

WhosOffice has developed a new task planner feature, which enables staff to check where they are needed during the course of each shift using a mobile app.

A spokesman said: " This is an important step towards supporting the NHS Long Term Plan to roll-out electronic rosters across all hospital trusts by 2021."

Mr Groombridge added: “Our NHS workers are doing an outstanding job in the most difficult circumstances, and WhosOffice is grateful to have played a small part in making their daily task load easier to manage.

"We hope to roll out our technology into other hospital trusts soon, so staff can spend less time on logistics and more time on incredibly valuable front-line work.”