The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care joined a virtual NHS staff event earlier today (Thursday 25 March 2021).
Matt Hancock opened the NHS Business Services Authority’s fortnightly engagement session by thanking NHSBSA employees for their hard work, particularly over the past year.
"I'd like to say thank you for all the work the NHSBSA has done over the last year and the contribution they’ve made to fight the pandemic. I and the public value what they're doing.
"The NHSBSA delivered 50 new services in the pandemic. I think that’s absolutely astonishing and really impressive. I know that if we give a job to the NHSBSA, they get it done, get it done well, and get it done on time. They’ve done an awful lot and should be incredibly proud. The NHSBSA has an exciting and important future and is a role model that many can learn from."
Since the pandemic hit, the NHSBSA has set up and ran a number of essential services to support the national effort. These include setting up a dedicated 111 COVID-19 contact centre helpline taking over 5,000 calls per day, implementing features on NHS Jobs to help fill COVID-19 vacancies in the NHS faster, developing self-isolation and at-risk patient text message services, creating digital platforms for key worker testing, and working alongside UK telecoms providers to co-ordinate prioritised access for frontline NHS colleagues.
The Health Secretary congratulated the NHSBSA’s contact centre for their recent award wins. Last week they won several prestigious awards including Gold for Contact Centre of the Year at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards, and Team of the Year at the national CCA Excellence Awards.
NHSBSA staff came prepared with questions ranging from the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to what the future plans are for the NHS.
Michael Brodie, Chief Executive at the NHS Business Services Authority, said: “I was thrilled to be able to welcome the Secretary of State to our meeting today. It was a fantastic opportunity for our staff to be able to ask him questions and we’re grateful that he could take time out of his day to do this with us.”