Cost of living driver of job vacancies at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

The high cost of living in Cambridgeshire is making it harder for another NHS trust to recruit and retain staff, according to a new report.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) – which operates The Cavell Centre in Peterborough – has said the cost of living in the area, and access to places to live for lower paid staff, were some of the reasons behind its increasing vacancy rate.

Last year the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital, highlighted issues it was facing recruiting staff due to the lack of accommodation and the cost of living.

North-south divide

A meeting of the CPFT board of directors on March 29 heard that there could be a north–south divide in the county in terms of being able to recruit staff.

The report, presented to the meeting, said the vacancy rate within the Trust increased in January to 9.86 per cent, the highest point since April 2020.

The turnover rate at the Trust had decreased slightly from 16.20 per cent in December last year to 16.10 per cent in January.

The report highlighted this was still above the target level of 10.50 per cent and that there had been a gradual increase in turnover since February 2021.

It said that there were “significant national shortages” of trained staff across specific professions, but also highlighted the high cost of living around the area as a potential driver of the vacancies as well.

The report added that there were also “accommodation challenges” across the lower grades of staff.

A number of recruitment plans being pursued by the Trust were set out in the report, as well as plans for a new “reward and recognition platform”, and “ongoing cost of living initiatives”.

The chair of the Board, Julie Spence, said she had heard that recruitment was not a problem in Peterborough and the Fenland area.

She suggested the Trust could consider putting flexibility of movement in contracts to allow people recruited in the north of the county to be able to work elsewhere.

Stephen Legood, the director for people and business development, said there were things in place that allowed staff to choose to move between organisations, but said they could not force people to move about.

Ms Spence said the Trust should think about it and speak to staff about the issue, as she said it could help the Trust continue to deliver services in the future.