The ward rings at a quarter past eight
The ward sister rings: your nurse has not arrived for the night shift that started fifteen minutes ago. Your on-call booker rings the nurse, who says she thought the shift was tomorrow, or at the other site, or she was never sure it was confirmed. The ward is short, the trust is annoyed, and your booker is now trying to fill a shift that has already started.
Looking back, the booking was agreed on a quick phone call a week earlier. No written details were sent. Nobody checked with the nurse on the day.
Why no-shows happen
Most no-shows are not nurses letting you down deliberately. They are confusion: wrong day, wrong site, wrong ward, or a booking the nurse never realised was confirmed.
- Bookings are agreed verbally and not confirmed in writing.
- Details such as the site, ward, entrance, parking and who to report to are missing.
- Nurses work for several agencies and their own trust, and their diaries get crowded.
- There is no reminder before the shift.
- Nobody knows the nurse has not arrived until the ward calls.
What each no-show costs
A ward left short, a client that trusts you less, and a booker scrambling. Some frameworks and clients track agency no-shows, and a pattern can affect how much work you are offered. Nurses who have a no-show against them may be blocked by the client. And the cause, confusion, was avoidable.
There is also the wasted effort on the nurse's side. A nurse who drives to the wrong site for an early shift, then has to find the right one, arrives late and flustered, and the ward's first impression of your agency is a bad one even though she turned up.
| Point in the booking | What we add |
|---|---|
| When booked | Written confirmation with full details and a confirm button |
| Not confirmed | Reminder to the nurse, then an alert to the booker |
| Before the shift | Reminder with the time, site, ward and arrival details |
| At arrival | Optional check-in from the nurse's phone |
| Not checked in | Alert to the booker before the ward has to call |
How we build confirmations and reminders
- Every booking sends the nurse a written confirmation in the app or by text: client, site, ward, date, times, rate, who to report to, and arrival notes such as the entrance and parking.
- Arrival notes are stored per client and ward, so they only need writing once.
- The nurse confirms with a button. If she has not confirmed within the time you choose, she is reminded, then your booker is alerted.
- Reminders go out ahead of the shift, including the evening before a day shift and the afternoon of a night.
- Nurses can check in on arrival from their phone, if you use check-in.
- If a nurse has not checked in shortly after the start time, your booker is alerted, so a replacement can be found before the ward calls.
- No-shows and lateness are logged, and patterns by nurse or client are reported.
What changes
Nurses always have the details in writing and know the booking is confirmed. Reminders prompt them at the right times. Your booker knows about a problem before the ward does. And fewer shifts start with a phone call from a ward sister asking where your nurse is.
The no-show log is useful beyond the individual cases. If most problems cluster around one hospital with several sites, better arrival notes for that client may do more good than any conversation with individual nurses.
Could this be your agency?
- Bookings are agreed by phone and not confirmed in writing.
- Nurses have gone to the wrong site or ward.
- Wards are the first to tell you a nurse has not arrived.
- There is no reminder before shifts.
- No-shows are not tracked by nurse or client.