How Covid-19 has changed the private healthcare hiring landscape

The Covid-19 placed enormous strain on healthcare workforces in the UK and made pay and conditions for workers in the sector a hot topic. In the wake of the pandemic, the treatment backlog has emerged as one of the UK’s dominant healthcare issues.

During the pandemic, much public and media focus has been on NHS workers in the UK. But the changes and challenges seen in the organisation have been mirrored in much of Britain’s private sector. Here, we explore exactly how the pandemic has affected UK healthcare, and what the impact has been on hiring and employment.

Recruitment challenges come to the fore

The pandemic led many private residential nursing homes, which haven’t traditionally employed nursing staff, to recruit nurses for the first time to help deal with residents suffering from Covid-19. Indeed, before the vaccine rollout reduced Covid-19 case numbers, there was a rush to hire staff at all levels in private healthcare institutions, from chefs to carers to nurses.

One of the biggest issues for employers was reassuring potential new employees that they could work safely in their organisations’ buildings, even when coming into contact with Covid-19 patients. Implementing rigorous safety and quarantine measures, then assuring incoming staff that they would continue to be adhered to, became vital.

Alice Cartwright, Senior Consultant at Michael Page Healthcare, said this was one of the biggest hiring challenges for organisations during this time. “A lot of staff flat-out refused to go into these work environments,” she said.

These problems eased once the vaccination effect kicked in, with front line healthcare workers being among the first to be offered the jab. However, a healthcare skills and staff shortage has remained as organisations deal with treatment backlogs caused by the pandemic workload, as well as a squeeze on imported talent due to Covid-19 travel restrictions and Brexit.

Growing demand for key skillsets 

The backlog has resulted in a push amongst employers for professionals with certain highly valuable skillsets. There has been an acute rise in demand for theatre medical staff, because many of these postponed treatments took place in medical theatres. Ward nurses in the private sector have also found themselves hugely in demand, partly due to their high levels of specialisation. A surgical ward nurse, for example, will be required to admit and discharge patients from surgery, skills that are not transferrable from many nursing positions.

Hiring healthcare assistants for the elderly in private nursing homes also remains a challenging issue. This has only worsened with Covid-19 vaccinations becoming mandatory for all staff working in care homes for adults. Although the majority of the adult population has been vaccinated in the UK, the mandate has caused some workforce dropout due to vaccine hesitancy.

With many carers preferring to work in larger hospitals even before the mandate came into effect, nursing home carers have also become challenging to recruit.

Flexibility is now a key priority

While many healthcare workers have suffered from burnout and feeling overworked during the pandemic, the fast-changing job market has led to greater options for many of them.

“Five years ago, professionals in the healthcare field were far less likely to want to work with agencies on a temp basis,” said Cartwright. She added that the pandemic has led many staff to choose to work with agencies and give themselves greater work flexibility, knowing that there is large demand for their skills.

Cartwright added: “Many have the view: ‘I worked so hard during the pandemic, and I’m now looking for that level of flexibility where I could build my work rota around my life, not the other way around.”

This is a key point for employers to be aware of: offer flexible working hours, and you can maximise your recruitment talent pool. With the private sector able to out-spend the NHS when it comes to wages, even in a sector with such skills and staff shortages, offering such flexibility along with competitive wages can give employers a powerful edge as the UK continues to exit the Covid-19 crisis.

At Michael Page Healthcare our expert consultants help leading healthcare organisations and professionals navigate all these issues and more. If you are looking to hire top talent or find an exciting new role, you can schedule an introductory call with an expert.