Hexitime: NHS pirates rewriting the rules of collaboration

Two NHS workers, tired of the anachronistic and siloed structure of the UK health system, set about imagining a better way for us all to get together and share our talents to make a better alternative.

In 2018 they re-wrote the rules and launched Hexitime - the first and still to this day, only national timebank in UK healthcare. They adopted a strict pirate code, grounded in equality and ethical working, and three years later the platform remains a not-for-profit and completely free to use. It has attracted multiple innovation awards for its work, and formed a cult following of networks and fellow healthcare pirates who recognise a better way of working. The community are now leading research into reducing racial inequalities in the healthcare research and pioneering timebanking in the NHS.

Timebanking is a process whereby you exchange your time as a currency on the basis that 1hr = 1 credit. This is really important because it means that everybody's time is literally equal. So it doesn't matter how senior you are, where you work, or even if you work at all - you can share your expertise as a citizen to improve health services on the platform. And when you do, you earn credits to further collaborate and share with others. You can donate credits to local services and hospitals and even gain support to develop yourself professionally. It relies on a gift economy, of like-minded people gifting their time, paying it forward and supporting reciprocity.

You can join today, and contribute your skills and ideas to improve NHS and care services. It's completely free to use and for every hour you give you'll earn credit to pursue your own innovations and ideas. See: https://hexitime.com/