Agency Theatre Nurses and Agency ODPs Surge in Demand

Nursing Personnel are recruiting agency theatre nurses and agency ODPs (operating department practitioners) for private hospitals across the UK. The increase in demand is a result of increased waiting lists in NHS hospitals.

Agency Theatre Nurses and Agency ODPs Surge in Demand in Private Sector due to Pension Dispute with NHS Doctors

The problem is a direct result of NHS doctors, consultants and surgeons refusing to do overtime in a dispute over pensions. As a result of the pension dispute doctors by working overtime to help clear waiting lists face huge tax bills and most of the money earned in overtime will go in tax. One consultant estimates the tax bill could be £ 80,000.

Some hospitals have reported cancer scans are being delayed by six weeks, radiology turnaround times are gone form weeks to months. Patients are turning up in A&E with severe pain as a result of operations being cancelled or delayed.

Private Hospitals Increased Theatre Demand.

On the other hand private hospitals seem to be picking up some of the work that the NHS cannot schedule due to the dispute. There is now an increase in demand for agency theatre nurses and agency OPDs as some private hospitals are seeing a surge in demand.

Another worry is, if this issue is not resoled many top doctors and consultants may quit the NHS for better paid jobs in other countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The pay is better and the tax is less taxing.

There have been reports of many locum doctors, agency theatre nurses and agency ODPSs leaving the NHS as a result of the 2017 IR35 tax rules. Since these rules came into effect many agency theatre nurses, agency ODPs, and locums have been forced onto payroll and deemed employed without employment rights. In many cases they should be deemed self -employed.

The DOH have said they will look at possible solutions and Matt Hancock has said the problem will be fixed by the new tax year. However in the meantime waiting lists are expected to increase and services cut back.

Nursing Personnel are working with a number of private healthcare organisations helping to staff operating theatres across the UK. If you are an agency theatre nurse or agency ODP look for work contact Nursing Personnel by registering on- line here and we can update you on the theatre jobs we have on offer.

Agency Nurses Pay and IR35 Rules in the Private Sector ( Large & Medium Sized Companies)

Agency Nurses Pay & IR35 in the Private Sector

Last week HMRC announced its plans to push ahead and roll out the IR35 off payroll rules into the private sector from April 2020. These rules came into the public sector in April 2017 and have had a huge impact on agency nurses pay and agency healthcare professionals pay.

IR35 Rules

Pre April 2017 contractors working through their personal service companies could decide if the IR35 rules applied to them and make their own IR35 status decision. Post April 2017 the new rules moved the IR35 decision away from the contractor to the PSB ( Public Sector Body). This for most agency nurses and healthcare workers means the NHS decides if a healthcare worker falls inside IR35 meaning tax and national insurance must be deducted at source when the agency worker is paid. This in turn has had a huge impact on agency nurses pay in the public sector.

To aid the IR35 decision making process HMRC released an online tool called CEST ( check employment status tool). There has been wide spread criticism of this tool as it does not take into account all relevant scenarios, is far to simplistic or align with current tax case law. The tool in many cases is unable to make an IR35 status decision.

As a result of CEST not being fit for purposes many agency workers have been forced onto payroll and deemed inside IR35 when in fact they could be genuinely be self employed and fall outside IR35.

So how do the proposed April 2020 rules effect agency nurses pay and healthcare workers pay  in the private sector?

If the IR35 rules are rolled out as planned into the private sector any agency nurse or healthcare worker working for a private company ( medium or large in size ) through their PSC ( personal service company) will have their tax status decided by the end client. The contractor or agency nurse will no longer be able to make their own IR35 status decision. This will mirror what is now happening in the public sector since April 2017.

Will the agency worker working in the private sector be able to challenge the end clients decision?

This is currently one of the major issues with the public sector and with the proposed new rules. Under the proposed plan the contractor will  have to receive an IR35 status decision and the reasoning behind the decision. The contractor may challenge the decision and the end client will have 45 days to reply. The issues is there is no appeal process if the contractor is still not satisfied with the end result or they feel the incorrect IR35 tax status has been determined. There is also a worry that end clients in order to avoid any potential tax risk or tax exposure they will blanket contractors inside IR35 forcing them into an employment status without any employment rights. Nursing Personnel has seen this happen in the public sector.

If you are working for a private medium or large company as an agency nurse or agency healthcare worker and being paid through your PSC  this proposed new legislation could have a high impact on your business and earnings. You would be advised to take professional advice from your account or tax adviser. If the proposed legislation is passed the new rules will have a big impact on your earnings and the way you are currently being paid.

For more information on the new rules visit the government website by clicking here.

Agency Nurse Mandatory Training

One of the questions that is constantly asked by agency nurse and healthcare workers is can Nursing Personnel accept my agency nurse mandatory training certificates from another agency or another healthcare provider? This post hopefully will explain and answer all your questions about agency nurse’s mandatory training including online training and face to face training.

The first thing to understand is NHS Framework agencies have to comply with NHS Framework rules around mandatory training, and the agency will have to provide to evidence to NHS auditors that healthcare workers have the required training certificates on their compliance file.

All training must be in line with the Skills for Health Core Skills Training Framework. A full list of certified training companies are available here. Nursing Personnel recommend Train Healthcare as they are certified by Skills for Health as fully compliant with the Core Skills Training Framework.

Can Nursing Personnel Accept Agency Nurse Mandatory Training Certs From Another Agency or Training Provider?

In order for Nursing Personnel to accept agency nurse mandatory training from another training provider (eg. another agencies internal training) that is not listed on the Skills for Health website as above we have to hold on file a certified signed document from the training provider confirming their training is aligned to the Core Skills Training Framework. Many agencies or training providers will not sign or provide this certified document and as a result we cannot accept the training certificate, as the quality and content of the training is not certified as aligned to the Core Skills Training Framework. Oddly enough even some NHS Trusts do not have their training aligned. The document we need signed to confirm the training is aligned to the Core Skills Training Framework is available here. As you can see this is a very detailed document and many companies do not want to complete this.

Agency Nurse Face to Face Mandatory Training

Face to face agency nurse mandatory raining, including basic life support and manual handling must be carried out face to face and cannot be delivered online. This training must be carried out within the last 12 months and refresher course must be done annually. The training must be to a level 2 standard. Level 3 cannot be accepted as some of the training content in Level 2 is not covered in Level 3 and this is a requirement by the NHS agency Framework operators.

Agency Nurse On-Line Training

Some of the mandatory training subjects and topics can be completed on- line. Again we will need to have on file certificates listing the subjects covered as required by the framework agreements. Examples include:

• RIDROR
• COSHH
• Complaint Handling, Equality & Diversity, Awareness of Mental Health
• Dementia & Learning Disability
• Food Hygiene & Safety
• PSTS/Conflict Management
• Fire Safety
• Health & Safety
• Handling Information & Information Governance
• Infection Prevention and Control
• Lone Worker
• Safeguarding Children Levels 1 & 2
• Safeguarding Adults Level 1 & 2
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
• RIDDOR
• Documentation & Record Keeping
• Mews Score Training

Some tips for agency nurses before you complete or consider doing your annual mandatory training.

Use a training provider like Train Healthcare that is listed on the Skills for Health website as an approved training provider. The quality of the training will be guaranteed to meet the required standards. Full details of Train Healthcare are available here.

Always keep your original training certificates as agencies usually need to see the originals to avoid fake certificates being produced.

All NHS Framework agencies will have to verify that the agency nurse mandatory training was carried out and an independent certified training provider will certify this much quicker than an agency providing their own internal training. This will especially be the case if you want to move or change agencies. An agency obviously will not want to see their worker leaving and will be slow to verify their training for another competitor agency. By using an approved Skills for Health provider you will not encounter this conflict of interest.

Some agencies will also charge agency nurses for training certificates as they know the worker is potentially looking to leave.

Accepting and verifying agency nurse mandatory training can often be a contentious issue between agency workers and the compliance team working for the agency. Our advice and top tip is always use an approved training provider where the training content and certificates can easily be verified. This will take the stress and aggravation out of approving your annual mandatory training.

We hope this information is useful and highlights the importance of checking the credentials of your training provider.

Nursing Agency Surrey Contract Award for Nursing Personnel

Nursing Personnel are delighted to announce we have been awarded a Tier 1 position on the new nursing agency surrey supply list for Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.The nursing agency Surrey  contract is effective form the 15th of June 2019 and is for the supply of nursing agency staff and healthcare assistants covering all specialities.

Nursing Agency Surrey

The Trust provides emergency and non emergency services to the towns of Crawley, Horsham, Reigate and Redhill.  East Surrey Hospital has recently been named as one of the top hospitals in the country and featured in the CHKS Top Hospitals List for 2019. East Surrey Hospital has 697 beds and provides acute and complex services.

Nursing Personnel are increasing our recruitment of agency nurses in the Surrey area and any interested nurses or healthcare assistants should contact us as we can offer some exceptional pay rates.  Some of the clinical areas we are recruiting for include A&E, ITU, medical and surgical wards, operating theatre and midwives. Accommodation is also available close by at very reasonable rates.

£1000 Bonus for Surrey Nurses

Nursing Personnel are an approved Nursing Agency in Surrey under the Health Trust Europe Nursing Framework Agreement. Nursling Personnel are also extending our £1,000 registration bonus for a further 8 weeks and this offer is only available for a limited time. The full terms on this offer are available here. If you are interested in working in the surrey area as an agency nurse please register on line or get in touch with us on 033 3043 6779 where one of our team will be delighted to help.

For more information on Surrey and Sussex NHS  Hospitals and its locations click here.

What is the role of an Emergency Nurse?

Emergency nurses are professionals who work in stressful and often fast-paced environments. These nurses have an enormous amount of responsibility, but ultimately they have one of the most rewarding careers in the nursing field.

Emergency care nurses are also known as ED nurses, A&E nurses or trauma nurses. These nurses deliver care for patients as the name suggests in emergency situations. They will work with other emergency medical experts such as physicians and paramedics. Working as an emergency nurse will involve working in a fast passed and stressful environment. It is not for everyone as the hours can be long and excellent skill sets and communication skills are required.

Role of an Emergency Nurse

According to a nursing agency in Hull, an emergency medical nurse handles a wide range of medical emergencies. These will include illnesses, injuries, accidents, immensely high fevers, drug overdoses, stab wounds, heart attacks, broken bones, and strokes. In addition to this, an emergency nurse will deal with patients from all walks of life and coming from many different back grounds. Once moment you are caring for an infant and the next you are looking after an elderly patient. A&E nurses will also have to deal with patients from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

What Does an Emergency Nurse Do?

The working hours of an emergency nurse starts just like any other nurse’s shift. However, their role is not as predictable as other nursing specialities. In the ED department you will be exposed and have to deal with patients with varying levels of illnesses and there is often no advanced warning as to how busy you day will be.

Time in the ED is often critical and it is important for an ED nurse to diagnose each patient as quickly as possible.

During the diagnosis process, they have to identify patients who require quick medical attention. For example, a patient in an unconscious state would require immediate assistance as compared to those with a low-grade fever. Hence, based on the diagnosis the emergency care nurse assists a doctor in offering adequate treatment to the patient.

In order to stabilise patients in an emergency room, these nurses are called upon to perform different kinds of medical procedures. Some of such procedures include:

• Blood Transfusions
• Administering Medication
• First aid
• Starting intravenous lines
• Rescue breathing
• Bag-valve-mask ventilation
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Tracheotomies
• Setting broken bones
• Suturing
• Intubation

In addition to these procedures, emergency care nurses must have excellent knowledge about other diagnostic procedures and tests, such as X-rays, ECGs, and using specialised diagnostic equipment.

Where Do Emergency Nurses Work?

The common settings where emergency nurses work are triage centres, trauma centres, hospital emergency rooms, and urgent care centres. Besides this, the emergency care nurses may work within clinics, poison control centres, emergency response units, prisons, and branches of the military.

How to Become an Emergency Nurse?

If you think that an emergency care nurse is the correct profession for you, you have to follow the steps necessary to become a registered nurse. You will have to obtain a nursing degree. This will involve a minimum of 3 years study with 50% of the time working as a student nurse in a clinical setting. You can continue your education and study for a master’s degree to become an advanced practice nurse.

In order to work as an emergency nurse with a nursing agency in Hull, you have to be a qualified nurse, hold full NMC registration and have a minimum of six months post qualification experience working in A&E or and ED.