• Following successful pilot projects, hospitals are being urged to sign-up to passporting agreements, which will cut the need for up to two-day inductions when staff move between organisations.
• All clinicians working in hospitals that have these agreements will be able to move across different NHS sites to offer care to patients before returning to their main trust.
• The scheme is part of a package of measures set out today by the NHS' chief people officer Prerana Issar at a conference in Manchester, in moves to build a workforce to deliver the ambitions of the NHS long term plan.
  
  

Responding to the rolling-out of ‘NHS passports’ to help staff work more flexibly, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin said:

“This roll-out of passporting arrangements, following successful pilots, is welcome, and a positive step in supporting system working.

“These proposals can help reduce administrative burden on trusts when staff transfer between organisations and allow providers to work together more closely to provide integrated and expert care across a local area.

Staff passporting schemes can reduce competition among local trusts to recruit staff, build relationships between different partners across a system, give staff opportunities to develop and widen their skillset and support workforce retention.

Miriam Deakin    Co-Director of Development and Engagement

“Trusts which have led the way on these flexible working initiatives tell us that they have reaped the benefits. Staff passporting schemes can reduce competition among local trusts to recruit staff, build relationships between different partners across a system, give staff opportunities to develop and widen their skillset and support workforce retention.

“It is however important that any national framework enables trusts and their system partners to develop local schemes which work for their patient population, their staff and the unique workforce needs of their system. As systems are diverse and are at different stages of collaboration and relationship-building, a one-size-fits-all approach may not work for every trust.

“We hope this scheme will be one of many initiatives in the final people plan to help strengthen the offer of support to NHS staff across the country.”