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UK – Department of Health reportedly looking to sell NHS Professionals

21 October 2014

The Department of Health (DoH) is reportedly reviewing its options for state-owned staffing agency NHS Professionals, with Minister exploring the sale of the main supplier of temporary staff to the NHS, reports Sky News

A formal decision to sell NHS Professionals, which has an estimated 40,000 nurses, doctors, midwives, and other healthcare workers on its books, has not yet been taken. However, sources on Monday said that an outright sale of the now-profitable agency was "a very real possibility", with analysts estimating that it could raise between £50 million and £100 million.

This is not the first time that Ministers have considered selling the agency. In 2010, a consultation over its future was launched, with Ministers anticipating bids from private equity firms and outsourcing groups.

For undisclosed reasons that sale process was delayed.

If the current review by accountancy firm Deloitte does result in a decision to press ahead with a sale, it would be the latest in a string of controversial privatisations initiated by the coalition Government; following the sale of the Royal Mail and current plans to sell taxpayers’ 40% stake in Eurostar.

A source at the DoH confirmed that Deloitte had been engaged to examine "all options" for the NHS Professionals agency.

In a statement after Sky News revealed the potential sale plan, a DoH spokeswoman said: "To make the NHS safer and more efficient we want to improve the way it uses temporary staff and reduce its reliance on expensive agency workers. We have commissioned a study looking at a range of options, including the future of NHS Professionals, which we (will) carefully consider before making any decisions."

NHS Professionals is a limited company wholly owned by the DoH and run by Stephen Dangerfield, its Chief Executive. According to its 2013 annual report, it moved from a loss of £6.7 million in 2009/10 back into profit in 2010/11, and since that time has made an aggregated profit of £10.8 million.

The agency managed 2.9 million shift requests last year, filling 21.5 million hours of staffing requirements, including 350,000 same-day requests for shift work. NHS Professionals counts 60 NHS Trusts as its clients and said this year: “[In] the foreseeable future, growth in our revenue and profit will come from extending our business in our core markets".

According to the latest research from Staffing Industry Analysts, if NHS Professionals were an independent for-profit organisation, it would be the largest healthcare staffing provider in Europe.

For more information about the European healthcare staffing market, please see Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2014 Largest Healthcare Staffing Firms in Europe report.