Wymas NHS Professionals, an organisation set up to meet the
temporary staffing needs of the health service, has significantly
reduced the time it takes to process payslips thanks to a new
payroll system.
Based in Wakefield, Sheffield and Halifax, the organisation works
with 36 NHS trusts and has approximately 23,000 nurses, doctors and
healthcare staff on its payroll.
The new Trent system, which was supplied by Midland HR and Payroll
Solutions, went live in September last year, and officials said it
has already led to a significant improvement in both efficiency and
accuracy.
The time taken to process pay has been reduced by one day per week
across the organisation's regional payroll teams, and officials
have been able to use the time saved to improve the level of
payroll accuracy.
Wymas' error rate has been reduced to less than 0.5% on a weekly
payroll averaging 4,000 people. Ann-Marie Walker, payroll manager
at Wymas NHS Professionals, said, "Trent gives greater control over
our input and checking procedures. Because of its increased
usability and functionality we can now produce our payroll one day
earlier than with the previous bureau service, and this has been
achieved with fewer resources."
As well as improving efficiency and accuracy, the new system has
also proved flexible and robust enough to meet Wymas' constantly
changing needs.
Each week, the organisation runs a different payroll, depending on
the number of shifts worked by its staff. For example, in one week
the organisation might pay 5,000 nurses, which represents 15,000
shifts paid.
Walker said, "The new payroll system now ensures that we provide
all the nurses, doctors and healthcare support staff on our books
with a first-class payroll service."
Although currently a division of the West Yorkshire Metropolitan
Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Wymas NHS Professionals is set to
become part of the new Special Health Authority, which will operate
nationally by the end of this year.