Bespoke Healthcare Holdings has launched Bespoke Digital Bookings, a recruitment business which centres around a tailor-made online portal specifically designed to reduce NHS agency staff costs by 20-25% through reverse auctions.
The system, known as Quantum, is based on the principle of competition so rather than hospitals having to source individuals and negotiate prices, it opens up the market to chosen agencies allowing them to bid against each other for each assignment thereby driving down costs.
Two years in development, Quantum has spent the last 12 months undergoing rigorous market testing to ensure that NHS clinical standards are met and an independent marketing company has ran several research reserve auction projects to verify potential cost savings.
Gwam Rajiah, Chairman of Bespoke Healthcare Holdings, said: “The latest report published by NHS Improvement in February shows that the spend on agency staff is costing the health service £250 million per month – equivalent to £3 billion per year* – and whilst the introduction of agency caps has had an effect there is still a lot more that needs to be done to get costs under control and reduce overspend.
“Quantum has been designed specifically to help drive these excessive costs down significantly, with many of the test programmes we have run showing a possible reduction in wages and fees of up to 20-25% per temporary assignment. The opportunity for potential savings is massive and shouldn’t be ignored.
“We have achieved these results by scrapping the old-style agency model and creating what is simply a reverse eBay programme, where the cheapest agency will secure the business whilst still meeting the clinical standards necessary to deliver high quality, safe healthcare services. The benefits are here for all to see.”
Founded in 2006, Preston-based Bespoke Healthcare Holdings comprises two core divisions:
- Preston-based Greater Lancashire Hospital is the North West’s foremost specialist diagnostic and treatment centre, providing the region’s NHS hospitals with a wide range of diagnostic, general day care, investigative, medical and surgical procedures;
- Bespoke Healthcare is the leading independent provider of neurophysiology tests and Intra Operative Monitoring (IOM) for NHS hospitals and leading surgeons throughout the UK.
The company has seen over 100,000 NHS patients for leading healthcare establishments nationwide.
