GovTech NHS Digital Workforce Planning Platform — NHS England

Electronic Staff Record

ESR (Electronic Staff Record): NHS HR system — staff contracts, employment history, mandatory training compliance, pay grades.

ESR API

NHS Digital ESR Web Services (SOAP-based legacy — ClickMasters wraps in REST adapter).

ESR data

• 1staff demographics (name, NHS number, employment start date, contracted hours, pay grade, role),
• 2mandatory training compliance (IG training, Basic Life Support, Fire Safety — compliance % per team),
• 3sickness absence (Bradford Factor calculation — trigger for occupational health referral),
• 4ESR e-learning (NHSX learning management — module completion records).

ESR integration challenge

ESR uses SOAP web services and Oracle database export formats — ClickMasters builds REST adapter exposing modern JSON API over legacy ESR interface.

Rota management

• 1weekly rota generation (ward/team rota — shift allocation by role, contracted hours, skills),
• 2vacancy identification (unfilled shifts → NHS Bank or agency escalation),
• 3NHS Bank management (temporary bank staff pool — bank workers receive shift offers via SMS/email, accept or decline),
• 4agency management (agency booking when bank unfilled —

NHS Improvement agency rules compliance

agency cap rates enforced), (5) E-rostering compliance (NHS Improvement E-rostering — recommended nurse:patient ratios monitored).

NHS agency cap rates

NHS Improvement publishes maximum rates for agency staff by role — platform enforces cap, flags non-compliant agency bookings.

Bank shift management

• GOV.UK Notify SMS (bank worker receives shift offer → accepts via web link → rota updated in real time).
• Workforce Analytics and 5-

NHS workforce modelling

• current headcount × attrition rate × retirement projections → 5-year demand vs supply gap. 5-year workforce plan components: (1) current establishment (funded posts per role per organisation), (2) vacancy rate (% unfilled posts), (3) attrition rate (leavers per year per role — ESR data), (4) retirement projections (staff aged &gt
• 55 — NHS pension at 60/67), (5) training pipeline (medical school, nursing, AHP graduates per year — NHS England Health Education England data), (6) demand forecast (population growth × acuity → future workforce demand).
• NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023 NHSE): platform tracks progress against NHSE workforce plan milestones per region.

NHS Jobs

national NHS recruitment platform — all NHS vacancies must be advertised on NHS Jobs.

Integration

• 1vacancy creation (unfilled post in workforce platform → NHS Jobs API → vacancy advertised),
• 2application management (applicants from NHS Jobs API → shortlisting workflow),
• 3employment checks (DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check automation — DBS API, right to work, professional registration — NMC/GMC/HCPC API verification),
• 4ESR onboarding (successful applicant → ESR onboarding record created automatically — new starter workflow).

Safer Recruitment

NHS Safer Recruitment framework — DBS enhanced check, reference checks, and professional registration verification all documented before start date.