9.5-hour shifts: how new nursing roster is lightening workloads
Posted 15 May 2024 - 12:00
Condensed week with one shorter shift results in less unpaid overtime and more manageable workload – so would you like the idea to come to your workplace?
Nurses will work 9.5-hour shifts and four-day weeks at one NHS trust after reporting better work-life balance and lighter workload during a rostering pilot.
Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust ran an eight-week trial in which two community nursing teams were offered extended shifts across four days, with one shift per week that could finish 30 minutes early. The shifts, which included a 30-minute lunch break, ran from either 7am-5pm or 8am-6pm. They were trialled by a city-based team with stable staffing and a rural team covering a large geographical area that had high staff sickness.
Longer shifts mean less catching-up on work at home
Staff said they had a significant improvement in work-life balance, worked less unpaid overtime and estimated their workload to be 35% more manageable.
One senior staff nurse called Gemma reported: ‘I’ve found I get more work done through the week working the long days. Before, I was always catching up on working in the evenings on my laptop and I would be thinking about work on my days off. Now my days off are for myself to recharge and rest, and I find it much easier to switch off.
‘I’m enjoying my work more as it’s not taking centre stage of my life and it’s shared 50-50 with my personal life.’
Adequate rest time offers greater scope for bank and (paid) overtime
The staff survey following the pilot found there was no change in the number of patients being seen each week, and often patients had better continuity of care.
Staff were also more willing to pick up bank shifts and overtime during surges in demand, as they felt they had adequate rest days in the week.
Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust's lead specialist practitioner Rachel Bailey said: ‘The pilot was extremely well received, with staff reporting their workloads were more manageable and their morale enhanced. This in turn has supported staff retention, ensuring more experience is being maintained.
‘Following the pilot’s success, these teams have now adopted this new way of working, and this learning has been shared across our trust and with a number of community teams across the country.’
Trust staff who prefer their previous working pattern are entitled to stick to five-day weeks.
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