Master vendor model for medical staff (FOI)

​​Request

The Government of Jersey uses a Master Vendor model for the provision of medical staff.  Please provide the following information:

A

When does the existing contract expire?

B

Who is responsible for deciding which provider to engage when the contract expires?

C

What is the current spend for Locums, AHP, NMNC and Facilities Management separately across Agency utilisation or contractors? 

D

Who manages the current staff bank and for which staffing groups? What annual costs are associated with the staff bank to provide this service?

E

What current staffing rosters are in place and operational, their contract end date per service, and annual contract fees and costs?  How many users or licenses are there per product? 

F

How many nurses, doctors or AHPs were procured via international recruitment during 2023? 

G

Does the Government of Jersey use insourcing or outsourcing services?

Response

A and B

The service contract for Locum medical staff (doctors) provision is currently out for tender. This is a procurement-led exercise, with Health and Community Services (HCS) representatives to sit on the assessment panel, supported by the HealthTrust Europe Framework.

C

Details of HCS’ spend on medical locums and agency staff has been provided in a recent Freedom of Information response, published on www.gov.je in December 2023:

Locum staff employed at the hospital since 2018 (FOI)

As this information is available elsewhere, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information has been applied.

Please note, the Finance establishment records do not group staff in the specific format requested, and a Scheduled Public Authority is not obliged to create new datasets or manipulate existing data to address Freedom of Information requests.

D

The Bank Staff and Rostering Team manage the staff bank for nurses, midwives, Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) and Healthcare Assistants (HCAs).

Temporary medical staff are managed through the provider. Fees are included within the Locum charge rate, rather than independent costs. The service is supported by a Locum Co-Ordinator within HCS’ Medical Staffing Team.

Total annual budget for staff across the business areas is £569,450 (maximum, based on 2023 pay rates).

E

Allocate eRoster is used in HCS.

The contract of services is commercially sensitive and as such, HCS considers that disclosure of the contract detail requested would likely prejudice the commercial interests of the department, or others. Therefore, Article 33 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

F

Medical staff roles are advertised through the BMJ (British Medical Journal) and NHS Jobs, and applications are accepted from overseas candidates. No international recruitment campaign has been conducted.

Similarly, there have been no international recruitment campaigns to attract nurses, midwives or AHPs. Posts are advertised through NHS Jobs and relevant professional publications, and applications are accepted from overseas applicants.

​G

HCS has utilised both insourcing and outsourcing, according to operational requirements.

Articles applied

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.

Article 33 - Commercial interests

Information is qualified exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information).

Public Interest Test

Article 33 is a qualified exemption and as such, HCS has conducted a prejudice test as required by law. 

When responding to requests of this nature, HCS has to balance the public interest with the impact that disclosing this information would, or would be likely to, have upon the organisation and / or third parties. Whilst it may be in the public interest to understand the costs of contracting services, protecting the commercial interests of HCS is an essential component in controlling public finances, which in itself is in the public interest.

It has been concluded that disclosing details of the contractual service arrangements is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of HCS and / or the provider. When considering the application of this exemption, HCS has determined that whilst it is in the public interest to disclose information, this is outweighed by the necessity to limit any impact on the commercial interests of HCS and third parties in future contract negotiations, and as such, Article 33 has been applied​