Okuzeka
Healthcare Management vocabulary · Staffing and Workforce

Agency staff

Meaning in healthcare management, with examples

nounCommon term

In healthcare management, agency staff means: Temporary workers supplied by a staffing agency to fill gaps in a hospital's own workforce, usually at a higher cost per hour.

In Turkish: geçici personel, ajans personeli

How it is used

Common in the UK, the US and Australia. Managers try to cut agency spending by building an internal 'bank' of flexible staff. Temporary doctors are called 'locums'. Heavy use of agency staff can affect continuity of care and team knowledge.

Example sentences

  1. We spent more on agency staff in the first quarter than in the whole of last year.

  2. Agency staff need a proper induction before their first shift on the ward.

Common collocations

  • agency staff costs
  • reduce agency spending
  • bank staff
  • locum doctor
  • agency nurse
  • staffingThe number and type of staff working in a hospital, ward or shift, and the work of making sure there are enough of them with the right skills.
  • staff turnoverThe rate at which employees leave an organisation and have to be replaced, usually shown as a percentage of staff per year.
  • workforce planningPlanning how many staff, with which skills, an organisation will need in the future, and how it will recruit, train and keep them.
  • rotaA list or timetable that shows which staff work which shifts over a period, such as a week or a month.

More terms: Staffing and Workforce

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.