If you manage a care home, residential home, or nursing facility in the UK, this question has probably kept you up at night. Do you build a permanent workforce and invest in long-term stability? Or do you rely on agency staff to cover gaps, manage surges, and keep your rota running smoothly?
In 2026, with NHS pressures at an all-time high, the UK's social care workforce stretched thin, and the cost of living continuing to impact staff retention, this decision carries more weight than ever. The honest answer is that both models have a place but for most care homes operating in today's environment, agency staffing is increasingly becoming not just a backup plan, but a strategic advantage.
Let's break it down.
The Case for Permanent Staff
There is genuine value in a stable, permanent workforce, and it would be wrong to dismiss it. Permanent staff build relationships with residents over time. They learn individual preferences, routines, and medical histories. Residents - especially those living with dementia benefit enormously from familiar faces and consistent care.
Permanent employees are also invested in the culture of your facility. They attend team meetings, contribute to CQC inspections, and carry institutional knowledge that agency workers simply cannot replicate on a short placement.
For care homes with a full complement of staff, low turnover, and predictable occupancy levels, permanent employment is a solid foundation.
The challenge is that in 2026, very few care homes in the UK fit that description.
The Reality Facing Care Homes Right Now
The UK is in the grip of a care workforce crisis that shows no signs of abating. According to Skills for Care, there are consistently over 100,000 vacancies in adult social care at any given time. Staff turnover in the sector runs at around 28% annually meaning that even if you recruit well, you are likely to lose nearly a third of your team every year.
Add to this the increased compliance burden following post-pandemic CQC reforms, rising wage pressures driven by National Living Wage increases, and the administrative cost of recruiting, onboarding, and training permanent staff and the picture becomes clear. Relying solely on permanent staffing is a high-risk strategy in the current climate.
This is precisely where agency nursing steps in not as a sticking plaster, but as a genuinely smarter way to manage your workforce in 2026.
Occupancy in care homes fluctuates. Seasonal illness, unexpected hospital admissions, staff sickness, and maternity leave create gaps that a fixed permanent rota simply cannot absorb. Agency staffing gives care home managers the ability to scale up or down in real time filling a shift at short notice without compromising care ratios or putting pressure on existing staff.
We operate a 24/7 on-call service across Yeovil, Salisbury, Taunton, and Bournemouth, meaning your facility is never left exposed regardless of when a gap appears.
One of the most underappreciated advantages of working with a quality nursing agency is access to specialists. Whether you need a registered nurse with dementia care experience, a skilled HCA familiar with complex mobility needs, or a support worker with specific disability training a good agency can match you with the right person for the role rather than the closest available permanent hire.
Nurses Group maintains a large, verified database of qualified nurses, healthcare assistants, and support workers across the South West, all of whom are DBS-checked, NMC-compliant where applicable, and ready to deploy.
Recruiting a permanent nurse in the UK takes an average of 12 weeks and involves advertising costs, interview time, DBS checking, reference gathering, and a lengthy induction. If that nurse leaves within six months which happens frequently in the current market you begin the entire process again.
With agency staffing, that burden sits with the agency. At Nurses Group, our internal compliance team handles all background screening, right-to-work verification, training records, and DBS checks before any member of staff sets foot in your facility. You receive a qualified, compliant professional without the overhead.
A common misconception is that agency staff are always more expensive than permanent employees. When you factor in the true cost of permanent employment recruitment fees, employer National Insurance contributions, holiday pay, sick pay, pension contributions, training costs, and the hidden cost of unfilled shifts the equation often looks very different.
Agency staffing allows care home managers to pay for exactly the cover they need, when they need it, with no long-term financial commitments. In an era of tight local authority funding and uncertain occupancy, that kind of cost control matters.
Overworked permanent staff are one of the biggest drivers of turnover in care homes. When a team is consistently understaffed and asked to cover additional shifts, morale deteriorates, burnout increases, and resignations follow. The irony is that trying to manage without agency support often costs more in permanent staff turnover than the agency fees would have.
Using agency staff strategically to fill gaps protects your core team, reduces overtime pressures, and contributes to a healthier, more stable workplace culture.
Working with a CQC-regulated agency like Nurses Group removes one of the most significant compliance risks care home managers face: deploying staff whose credentials are not fully verified. Our internal audit team conducts monthly checks to ensure every member of our workforce maintains current DBS clearance, mandatory training certificates, and all required regulatory documentation. Your CQC inspection readiness is not compromised, it is strengthened.
Where Permanent Staff Still Matter
This is not an argument for replacing your permanent workforce entirely. Permanent staff provide the continuity, cultural cohesion, and resident relationships that underpin outstanding care. The most effective care homes in 2026 are those that combine a strong permanent core with a reliable agency partner who can flex around it.
Think of permanent staff as your foundation and Nurses Group as the structure that keeps everything standing when the unexpected happens.
In a perfect world, every care home would have a full, stable, highly trained permanent team. In the real world of 2026 with vacancy rates persistently high, turnover rising, and regulatory demands increasing the care homes that are thriving are those that have embraced a blended staffing model with a trusted agency partner at its centre.
Agency staffing is no longer a sign of a struggling facility. It is a sign of a well-managed one.
Partner with Nurses Group Today
Nurses Group is a CQC-regulated nursing and healthcare staffing agency serving care homes, residential homes, nursing homes, and disability centres across Yeovil, Salisbury, Taunton, and Bournemouth. We are governed by the NMC, registered with the RCPA, and ICO-compliant giving you confidence that every member of staff we place meets the highest professional and regulatory standards.
We offer flexible, same-day cover, a 24/7 on-call team, and a tailor-made staffing solution for facilities of every size.
📞 Call us: 01935 315031 📧 Email: office@nursesgroup.co.uk 🌐 Visit: nursesgroup.co.uk
Request a callback or use our Quick Nurse service to fill a shift today.
Nurses Group is a division of JSS Healthcare Ltd, registered in England & Wales. Reg No. 09846338.
Nurses Group became the most trusted healthcare agency by following the simple formula, we treat our clients like family. We aim to provide a quality and reliable healthcare service through our team of committed and experienced nursing staff.
Nurses Group is a family-owned and operated Healthcare Company with years of experience in the
UK healthcare industry. © Nurses Group, a division of JSS Healthcare Ltd. Registered in England
& Wales. Reg No. 09846338
