Ashford and St Peter’s opt for RLDatix electronic rostering

Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has appointed RLDatix to deliver its electronic rostering platform, Allocate Optima, across all Agenda for Change staff, covering the majority of the trust’s workforce.

As part of the platform, the trust will implement SafeCare, a staffing tool that aligns workforce levels to patient need, alongside Loop, a staff engagement and communication app that enables employees to view rosters, manage shifts and communicate more effectively.

Together, these capabilities bring rostering, staffing insight and staff engagement into a single, connected system.

Jo Fanning, chief people officer at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This investment marks an important step forward in how we support our Agenda for Change staff and deliver safe, effective care for our patients.

“By implementing Allocate Optima, alongside SafeCare and Loop, we are strengthening our ability to ensure staffing levels reflect patient need, while also improving the experience for our teams.

“Our Agenda for Change staff are already familiar with the system and have responded very positively, and we are confident it will support both staff wellbeing and more effective use of our resources.”

Ashford and St Peter’s was one of the earliest adopters of electronic rostering in the NHS. Following a period of evaluating alternative approaches, including four years with a different supplier, the trust has now chosen to return to Allocate Optima, building on its previous experience with the system to support its current and future workforce needs.

The trust said the platform will support safer staffing aligned to patient acuity, enable more effective workforce deployment, support staff redeployment, reduce reliance on temporary staffing and support flexible working.

It added that the system will also support its wider digital transformation by enabling more consistent, data-driven workforce management and reducing reliance on manual processes.

Implementation is currently underway and is expected to be completed by August 2026.

Paul Sanders, president UK and Ireland at RLDatix, added: “We’re proud to be supporting Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in strengthening how they plan and deploy their workforce.

“By bringing together rostering, acuity-based staffing and staff engagement tools in a single platform, the trust will have greater visibility of demand and the flexibility to respond in real time.

“This is key to reducing reliance on temporary staffing, supporting staff wellbeing and, ultimately, delivering safer care for patients.”