NHS Direct to arrange new nurse working conditions

NHS Direct’s Board has agreed to progress with its plans for homeworking, following a successful pilot, providing nurses with the opportunity to experience a new way of working.

The Board has agreed that NHS Direct will recruit 100 nurse homeworkers across the organisation by March 2011 to review the benefits of homeworking on a larger scale and to trial its external recruitment approach. Current staff will also be eligible for homeworking but this will be gradually rolled out over time.

The Board was presented with the results of a homeworking pilot, which has been running with a group of eight nurses who previously worked at the Plymouth contact centre before the site’s lease expired in April. The results 1 show that since the pilot started:

• the number of patients nurses were able to speak to per hour increased by 25 per cent;

• the time the nurses were available to answer calls and spend with patients rose by over 10%; and

• the number of calls completed within NHS Direct (where patients are given self-care advice) rose from 60 per cent to over 80 per cent.

NHS Direct envisages that adopting a homeworking policy will help with recruitment and retention. There has already been significant interest in the Trust’s homeworking plans from NHS Direct nurses and nurses in the wider community. It is also thought that homeworking could be used to address long-term sickness issues, where the reason for absence is travel-related.

The pilot homeworkers have expressed significant benefits, including the reduction in travelling time and an improved working environment, with quieter surroundings and no background noise allowing them to focus fully on the calls. Nurse advisors wanting to work extra hours have found it much easier as they can log-on at home for shorter periods which would not normally be worth travelling into a contact centre for.

Angela Phillips, one of the pilot homeworkers, says: “Working at home has certainly improved my work and home life. The fact that I don’t have to travel over an hour to work anymore means I’m much more relaxed when I start my shift. I can do everything I did in the contact centre from home, and from the patient’s perspective there’s no difference to the level of care they receive. I have the same access to support from my team leader, who visits regularly and is available over the phone. I also regularly talk to the other nurses working from home and, even though it’s often in a virtual capacity, there is still a great sense of team spirit.”

A survey of 500 NHS Direct nurse advisors showed that 85 per cent would be interested in undertaking their role at home on a permanent basis. Of these, 63 per cent said they would be prepared to increase their hours if they worked at home, and 90 per cent said they would be prepared to log on at busy times. The main reasons nurses gave for not wanting to work at home were isolation and loss of social interaction with work colleagues. These factors have not impacted the nurses undertaking the pilot.

Helen Young, NHS Direct’s Chief Nurse, says: “The Board’s decision today means that we can move forward with this exciting project. There’s been a huge amount of work undertaken since the pilot started to develop policies and procedures to ensure they are as effective at home as they are in a contact centre environment and at all times patient safety has been paramount.  I’m extremely encouraged by the results of the pilot, and the comments from the nurses who have been working from home over the last few months. I hope this new style of working will be an appealing option for nurses from all backgrounds.”