Dear Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust,

I am writing to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Please could you answer the below questions relating to temporary staff management within your organisation.

Sourced Staffing Arrangements
1a. Do you have a master vendor (MV) or neutral vendor (NV) arrangement in place for sourcing agency staff? If so, please state which arrangement is in place
1b. What is the name of the MV/NV provider(s) and what staffing groups do they source? e.g. medical, nursing etc.
1c. As part of the arrangement, is any technology provided by the supplier to help manage the procurement of agency staff?
1d. Please provide the contract start and end date for the supplier (dd/mm/yy)

Direct Engagement
2a. Does the organisation use a third party to provide a Direct Engagement/Outsourced Employment Solution? (This is where the NHS organisation sources agency staff via a recruitment agency but hold a direct contract between the organisation and the worker - there is often VAT savings associated to this employment model)
2b. What is the name of the Direct Engagement (DE)/Outsourced Employment supplier (e.g 247Time/Allocate, PlusUs, Retinue, Liaison etc.)
2c. Under the DE/Outsourced Employment arrangement, which staffing groups are managed? For example; Medical, Admin, Scientific staff. Please list all applicable
2d. Please provide the contract start and end date for the DE supplier (dd/mm/yy)
2f. How much did the organisation pay the supplier in 20/21 (April 2020 to March 2021) for the provision of the direct engagement service?

Vendor Management System for Nurse Agency
3a. Does the organisation use a third-party Vendor Management System for the supply of nurse agency staff?
3b. Who supplies your Vendor Management System? E.g. Allocate, NHSP etc.
3c. Please provide the contract start and end date for this provider (dd/mm/yy)

Bank Management
4a. Please name the technology provider used to manage the supply of your bank staff, inclusive of any outsourced or managed arrangements (i.e. NHSP, Bank Partners, Allocate, Liaison, Patchwork, Locum’s Nest etc). If more than one supplier is used, please name all suppliers
4b. Please name the staffing group each provider is used for e.g. medical, nursing, AHPs, admin and clerical
4c. Please provide the contract start and end date for each bank supplier (dd/mm/yy)
4d. How much did the organisation pay the supplier(s) in 20/21 for the provision of the bank service?

Yours faithfully,
Abbey Simpson

Dear Dorset Healthcare No Reply,

Many thanks for your response. As you use Allocate for bank in question 4, please could you provide the contract dates and annual cost as requested.

Yours sincerely,

Abbey Simpson