In our latest Get to know feature we catch up with the NHS Workforce Alliance South West regional team, lead by Jessica Emmett. Each month we will be introducing a different regional team until you have met them all.
Team overview
Spearheaded by a dedicated and locally-based South West regional lead, the rest of the team consists of colleagues from across three of our partner organisations, including Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub (EOECPH) and NHS Commercial Solutions.
Who leads the team?
Jessica Emmett, the strategic lead for the South West region, heads up the team. Jess joined the Alliance in April 2024, bringing to the team her experience of both on-the-ground delivery of NHS staffing, as well as regional workforce strategy.
Jessica says:
“I feel that both my operational and strategic experience in temporary staffing really helps me understand the pressure and challenges facing the NHS in the world of workforce. In turn, this enables me to fully support providers and systems with their framework needs across the South West – a beautiful part of the world I’m lucky enough to call home.”
What experience does the team have?
Members of our South West regional team have a variety of backgrounds, ranging from trust operations, agency management, public procurement and delivering large-scale complex commercial agreements. We have extensive knowledge of both supply markets and workforce challenges faced by the NHS, regionally and nationally. We deliver innovative workforce solutions to address new and existing challenges, for providers and systems to deploy locally and quickly.
How does the team collaborate with NHS providers, systems and networks?
As well as directly supporting providers and systems with workforce challenges, the South West team also has regular interactions with the South West Temporary Staffing Collaborative, regional leads from NHS England and various efficiency and productivity/task and finish groups. We are proud of the relationships we have built across these networks, enabling us to connect with and support stakeholders at all levels.
What has been a highlight for the team since it was created?
The South West team really came to life with the creation of the dedicated regional strategic lead role, which Jessica assumed in April (2024). Since then, we have enjoyed developing relationships across the region, getting involved in a variety of workforce challenges: from helping providers source individual agency workers for niche, hard-to-fill specialist roles, to supporting large-scale collaborative procurements across multiple trusts and staff groups. As part of the NHS ourselves, it is rewarding to help providers and systems deliver safe, compliant and cost-effective staffing whilst in such a challenging workforce landscape.
No one is better placed than our colleagues to help you with your workforce challenges. If you’d like to find out how the Alliance’s South West team can support you, please get in touch with any questions.