Healthcare has changed, and so have we
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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how many us of work. And sometimes dramatically so. Perhaps forever, too. From being forced into working from home or operating online, to implementing social distancing into a previously collaborative workspace, it’s been a big challenge for everyone.

Perhaps first and foremost though, it’s frontline staff in both medical, and health and social care that have had to adapt the most, and certainly the quickest. As care homes nationwide began to see a rise in absences, due to self-isolation and sickness, we subsequently saw an increased demand in the need for agency staff. And with social distancing by this point essential, we made the necessary changes to our registration process in order to make it simpler for candidates to join us.

Similarly, as government regulations for healthcare staff continued to change, we routinely put our heads together to decipher what we could do to make these changes simpler to adhere to, both for our clients and those who work for us.

Not that we’re claiming to have set the bar for adapting to COVID, by the way!  We’ve only done what hundreds of thousands of other businesses up and down the country have done in some way, for the wellbeing of their own staff, clients, and customers.

But despite all this change, there has been one quality that’s remained both consistent, and crucial, to our work. Strong communication has been key to everything we’ve achieved over these last few months. And this has been one way we haven’t really had to change how we work at all.

As a people-focused business, taking that extra time to check in with and check up on our clients and staff hasn’t been anything new. From our long-term connections, to the new contacts we’ve met during the year, we’ve always found that dedicating a little more time to our people goes a long way. Especially during a time of uncertainty, and anxiety, communication has proved to be priceless for us this year, just as it has been during the decade we’ve recruited into the health and social care sector.

Plus, it’s been great to see what we’ll hopefully remember as the beginning of a distinct cultural shift in how people understand health and social care in the UK. The term ‘key worker’ mustn’t be left behind, when the COVID-19 pandemic is eventually a thing of the past, and the care of vulnerable people must remain a national priority regardless of the immediate threat posed by any novel virus.

So, while there will no doubt be further challenges ahead for healthcare staff, we don’t see any reason why we can’t continue to adapt,  and deliver the same excellent level of service to the carers, nurses, and care home staff we work with across the North East.

As the demand for healthcare professionals shows no sign of slowing down towards the end of the year, we’re still looking for new people to join our healthcare bank. You can find the latest healthcare jobs we have available by visiting our vacancies page, here, or get in touch with us by phone on 01325 285033. Louise, Shannon and Megan – the friendly faces behind our healthcare team – are ready to take your call, Monday-Friday, 08:30-17:00.