Flexible Nursing

Report for NHS Professionals

This literature review focuses on flexible resourcing of nursing staff in the National Health Service (NHS) through the three main types of temporary nursing staff; bank nurses, agency nurses and nurses provided through NHS Professionals. It also examines flexible working arrangements for permanent nurses within the NHS.

The report considers:

• the levels and trends in the use of bank and agency nurses and nurses provided through NHS Professionals and the levels and trends in flexible working arrangements for substantive staff
• the profile of the temporary nursing workforce and the profile of permanent staff with flexible working arrangements
• the costs and benefits of using bank and agency nurses and flexible contracts
• the impact of bank and agency and flexible working arrangements on patient safety and patient care
• how an effective balance is determined between the use of the substantive and temporary nursing workforce
• potential areas for new primary research in order to address current knowledge gaps.

The report has been archived by NHS Professionals and is no longer available