Filling GP shifts fast when it mattered most: Locum Hub Wales
When the pandemic hit, GP practices across Wales needed locum cover fast. Box UK expanded GP Wales’ Locum Hub platform while it stayed live, and it went on to win Gold for Best Use of Digital
Gold
Best Use of Digital, International Digital Experience Awards
Silver
Best Digital Response to the Crisis (SME)
380
GP practices in Wales
In short
GP Wales was set up by working GPs to make it easier to match practitioners with practices. When the pandemic pushed demand on GP surgeries up sharply, it accelerated Locum Hub Wales, a platform for filling temporary GP shifts, and asked Box UK to expand it.
- Box UK adding booking, invoicing, search, notifications and mailouts.
- We rebuilt parts of the platform in Laravel while it stayed live.
- Practices across NHS Wales health boards could post and fill shifts when they most needed to.
- The platform won Gold and Silver at the International Digital Experience Awards.
Customer background
GP Wales was founded by working general practitioners to make it easier for GPs to find placements and for practices to find the support they need. It’s engaged and funded by NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership, Train Work Live and the Welsh Government.
Wales has around 380 GP practices, 400 GP registrars and 2,400 qualified GPs. When a practice can’t fill a shift, patients wait longer for appointments.
The challenge
Matching locum GPs with practice shifts had always been a manual process, often relying on word-of-mouth recommendations and paper-based communication. Where digital tools existed, they were usually legacy systems that weren’t built around locums or practice managers and couldn’t cope with the demand.
Then the pandemic hit. Demand on GP surgeries rose sharply and filling vacant shifts quickly became a priority. GP Wales decided to accelerate Locum Hub Wales, a dedicated platform for locum shifts, and needed it expanded and improved without taking it offline.
Our approach
We worked closely with GP Wales under a deadline set by the pandemic response. Requirements and priorities changed as the situation did, so we worked in short agile cycles, and made sure both teams understood what each change was and why it mattered to practices and locums.
On the technical side, we built in Laravel on top of the existing framework and replaced parts of the platform one at a time. That let us move fast without interrupting GP Wales’ users.
“Far and away the best development house we’ve ever used, forward thinking, genuine, open, authentic people who want the best for our organisation and users. They’ve gathered exceptional talent and it shows in the work produced.”
TJ Wheeler, Director, GP Wales
What we built
- Booking, so practices and locums can arrange shifts through the platform.
- Invoicing for completed shifts.
- Search, so locums can find relevant shifts.
- Notifications and mailouts to tell locums about new shifts.
- Performance improvements so the platform works reliably across devices and browsers.
Delivery
Updates were released rapidly throughout the pandemic, so users across NHS Wales health boards could post and fill vacancies when it mattered most. Because components were replaced one at a time, the platform stayed available throughout.
The outcome
- A national tool for locum cover. Practice managers and locum GPs across Wales can post and fill shifts in one place.
- International recognition. Gold for Best Use of Digital and Silver for Best Digital Response to the Crisis (SME) at the International Digital Experience Awards.
- An ongoing partnership. Box UK went on to work on other parts of the GP Wales offering, including the main GP Wales site.
Frequently asked questions
Replace it piece by piece. On Locum Hub Wales, we rebuilt components in Laravel on top of the existing framework, so users could keep posting and filling shifts throughout.
Work in short cycles and make sure both teams understand why each change matters. On Locum Hub Wales, requirements shifted with the pandemic response, and close collaboration with GP Wales meant updates could be released quickly.
The core features are searchable shifts, booking, notifications and invoicing. Those were the features we added to Locum Hub Wales.
What this means
for your organisation
If you run a service that has to match people to work fast, whether that’s healthcare staffing, emergency cover or seasonal demand, a slow or manual process becomes a real cost the moment demand spikes.
The fix can be an existing platform improved in stages rather than a rebuild.. If you’re facing a similar squeeze, send us a few lines about the service and where it breaks under pressure. We’ll tell you what we’d change first.
Talk to one of our digital experts
Pete Withers-Jones
Head of Development
Do you have an idea or a project you need support with?
Pete Withers-Jones leads Box UK’s Development Practice, and has over 20 years of experience in software development, working across various industries and technologies.
Or call us on 020 7439 1900
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