The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) has called for the government to ensure that temporary and locum staff working in the NHS and the care sector are provided with equal access to PPE and COVID-19 testing kits. Half (48%) of specialist recruiters have flagged this as a major concern in the fight against Coronavirus. 

These agency health and social care staff are vital in the fight against Coronavirus, and they must be able to carry out their duties as safely as their colleagues who are permanent staff. This call comes as part of a four-point plan from the REC to help bridge staffing shortages and ensure that we harness the expertise of specialist health and social care recruiters during this pandemic. The manifesto, ‘Backing the NHS and care sector at a time of crisis’, also sets out how government can work with the recruitment sector to:

• build agile and sustainable recruitment supply chains; compliance checks and hiring processes must remain effective but must be sped up to meet demand for staff;
• set the right standards for recruitment by developing a formal partnership agreement with the Department for Health & Social Care; and
• take a lead on longer-term workforce planning by launching a review of future NHS and care sector workforce strategy and reviewing immigration policy.

Tom Hadley, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the REC, said: “We want to work with the NHS and care sector to ensure that all workers, including temporary and locum staff who are providing crucial frontline support, are kept safe at work. Looking at the longer-term, 70% of healthcare recruiters would welcome a post-crisis review of how flexible staffing can best be harnessed. The NHS already had 100,000 unfilled vacancies prior to the pandemic – we want to build a genuine partnership approach with government to pre-empt and address both immediate and future workforce challenges.

“The recruitment industry places more than a million people into temporary, contract and locum placements every day. We want to work with the government to harness the contribution of recruitment experts during this time of national emergency, and this manifesto sets out four priority areas that will help to make this happen.”

This evening the UK will come together for a national salute to honour the hardworking NHS staff and all carers working hard through the coronavirus outbreak.

In a gesture of thanks to the frontline healthcare heroes, everyone across the nation has been invited to join a mass round of applause from their doorsteps, gardens, windows and balconies on Thursday 26th March at 8pm.

Organisers of the "Clap For Carers" campaign - which started online - say it is being staged because "during these unprecedented times they [NHS staff] need to know we are grateful".

The person behind the campaign wrote on its website: "In Spain, France and the Netherlands they already did this. And being a Dutch Londoner, I want to pass this on in the country I feel so at home, and the NHS had been nothing but amazing to my family and myself!"

Landmarks such the Wembley Arch, the Principality Stadium, the Royal Albert Hall and Lincoln Cathedral are set to be lit up in blue during the salute. It is part of the #lightitblue campaign which has been organised by members of the events and entertainment industry as a way to say thank you.

In a statement, organisers said: "The events and entertainment industry finds itself in an unprecedented state of enforced inaction.” 

"The best thing we can do - apart from staying at home - is to use our skills and networks to say thank you to everyone who is supporting the NHS and risking their own health to help others during this pandemic."  

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "Never have we owed so much to our brilliant and hardworking NHS staff. Just as they are caring for us, we need to care for them and give them every ounce of support they need. I welcome this fantastic initiative to encourage the public to show their appreciation to all our NHS workers." 

It comes as the total of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK since the start of the outbreak neared 10,000.
As health professionals battle the spread and tend to the patients, more than half a million people have also signed up to be NHS volunteers to support in the crisis.

Staying up to date

The government is continually providing updates. For the latest information and advice please visit Public Health England.

There is also guidance for health professionals on the NHS website www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus.

Track confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK 

The coronavirus dashboard is now available to find out and track confirmed cases in the UK. 

Coronavirus Tracker - Mobile friendly guide

Coronavirus Tracker - Desktop guide

Symptoms of coronavirus & what to do

Coronavirus: Guidance for Health Professionals