We operate extended access NHS GP clinics across Coastal West Sussex seven days a week at up to 20 different sites. Some sites are open daily, others as infrequently as every 2 weeks. This makes planning staff a real challenge. We have been using DutyDoctor over the last 2 years and it’s made our service possible.
When we started, at a smaller scale, we relied on spreadsheets but quickly found out that keeping track of changes to shifts and staff cancellations and holidays took up a lot of time and mistakes kept happening as well. We switched over to DutyDoctor and its been a revelation – it is now impossible to double book staff, we can quickly see at a glance where there are vacancies and matching staff invoices against their shifts is quick and painless. Our administrators took a little time getting used to it but now they wouldn’t be without it.
Allowing staff to instantly book their shifts cuts down on administrative work and prevents our locums from getting frustrated waiting to hear if they have been given work. They really like the targeted vacancies too – they don’t see sessions at times they aren’t available. In three months, we had over 2300 shifts to fill and we would never have coped without DutyDoctor.