Six hospital trusts in the West Midlands are to benefit from over £1.5m in government funding to support electronic rostering systems which will save NHS staff time and money.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust will be able to save staff time and money by rolling out digital shift planning, known as e-rostering systems, thanks to the funding.

The investment is part of a £26 million national fund to have all NHS doctors, nurses and other clinical staff on e- rostering systems by 2021, shown to be particularly invaluable during the pandemic. E-rostering can save time and effort when redeploying staff, digitally matching staff skillset with patient care requirements and geography, while managing working hours and pay to save clinicians time and effort every week.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, e-rostering has proven instrumental when redeploying staff, reporting absences and managing working hours and pay information, notably for vaccination centres. NHS trusts have reported an increased appetite across clinicians to implement e-rostering as a result.

Steve Morrison, Regional Workforce Director at NHS England and NHS Improvement in the Midlands, said:

“We are delighted that six NHS trusts in the West Midlands are to benefit from this significant investment into the use of electronic rosters. E-rostering is a crucial tool to make the most of our dedicated healthcare professionals’ time for looking after patients – something which is needed more than ever during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Clinicians can select shifts digitally, providing them with more flexibility and more efficient work schedules. The technology can also cut costs for the NHS by reducing the reliance on staffing agencies.”

The amount of funding recommended for 2020/21 financial year is as follows:

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust Midlands Acute –  £154,000
The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Acute – £127,000
George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust Midlands Acute – £386,000
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Midlands Specialist – £237,000
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Midlands Acute – £491,000
Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust Midlands Community – £111,000