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Essential information about the NMC and nursing agency jobs.

Overview

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) regulates nurses within the UK. They set standards which nurses and midwives must meet in order to practice. The NMC’s conduct also states how nurses and midwives must work and behave.

Language requirement:

Applicants must demonstrate that they can communicate clearly in English. They must complete the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and achieve a minimum score of at least seven overall and in each of the four skills. The score should be achieved in a single sitting of the tests.

Practice requirements:

  • The application must have practised as a registered nurse or midwife for at least one year, either full-time or its part-time equivalent
  • The applicant’s experience must be relevant to the specialist field you are applying for. Any experience gained pre-registration is ineligible
  • If the applicant has been qualified for longer than this, they must have also practised for at least 450 hours in the previous three years. We define ‘practising’ as working in some capacity by virtue of their registration as a nurse or midwife
  •  Practice can include administrative, supervisory, teaching, research and managerial roles as well as providing direct patient care. This can also include volunteer work as long as any practice is registered. If the applicant has not undertaken any duties as a registered nurse or midwife in the three years prior to making their application, they should contact NMC to discuss available options
  • If the applicant is a midwife but has not practised midwifery in the five years prior to their application, they must do a return to midwifery practice course in their home country before they can apply to register with us

Registration requirements:

  • Applicants must hold a current registration or licence without restriction with the licensing authority or registration body in the country in which they qualified or have been practising
  • If applicants have worked as a nurse or midwife in more than one country, NMC requires them to be registered with the licensing authority or registration body in all the countries/states where they have worked
  • NMC will require verification from that authority regardless of the length of their employment. Applicants must provide the details of all practice undertaken as a registered nurse or midwife including verification documents and registration certificates

News: Royal Sussex County Hospital Granted £484.7 million rebuild

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Chief nurse Sherre Fagge commented: “The first new building will open in late 2019…I think few people will recognise it as the same hospital they have visited in the past”, she also confirmed that the buildings along with the front of the hospital would be replaced, including those dating back to the 1840s.

Nursing Personnel has jobs in hospitals all over the UK. Please register below to see if there are places available in a location of your preference.
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Screening dehydration in elderly made easier by routine blood testing

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Researchers from the University of East Anglia have figured out a cheaper and more precise way to detect dehydration in elderly patients.  The study, published in the British Medical Journal, looked at almost 600 people over the age of 65 from a wide variety of backgrounds, with varying health conditions and lifestyles. Those behind the research hope that these new blood tests can replace expensive serum osmolality tests taken in laboratories. Lee Hooper, a lead researcher from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical school, explains :

“A serum osmolality test measures the freezing point of blood serum to show how concentrated a sample of blood is. People’s blood becomes more concentrated as they become dehydrated. But it is an expensive and time consuming procedure – and clinical laboratories would not be able to handle routine screening…”

This is the latest breakthrough in a broader effort to widen access to cutting edge healthcare while simultaneously bringing down NHS costs.

Read more: Screening dehydration in elderly possible from routine bloods » (Nursing Times)

York and Scarborough – Increased RGN/HCA rates

Find out below our latest Registered general nurses in York and Scarborough.
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RGNSs:

Monday – Friday: £18.72 p/h
Saturdays / Nights: £22.46 p/h
Sundays / Bank Holidays: £26.20 p/h

Days and nights available

EARN UP TO £1,392.48 per week, £5,987.66 per month

HCAs:

Monday – Friday: £9.97 p/h
Saturdays / Nights: £12.47 p/h
Sundays / Bank Holidays: £14.96 p/h

Days and nights available

Please call the office on 0208 326 6700.

EARN UP TO £778,08 per week, £3,345.74 per month

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How to view the currently available shifts from Nursing Personnel?
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Are you working with a Framework agency?

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Starting 19 October 2015, NHS Trusts will not be using agency staff from off-Framework recruitment agencies.

The reason for this is that off-Framework agencies charge more than approved agencies and have fewer compliance/checks in place.

How does this affect you? If you already work with an approved agency, you have no reasons to worry.

On another hand, if you currently work with an off-Framework agency, you should move to a Framework agency as soon as possible.

To register with Nursing Personnel, please visit our register page. To see our available shifts, browse our web site or Login into the nursing portal.

Nursing Personnel shortlisted for the Institute of Recruitment Professionals (IRP) Awards 2015 for Best Back-Office Support Team category

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We are happy to announce that Nursing Personnel has been shortlisted for Best Back-Office Support Team category at the IRP Awards 2015.

Now in its seventh year, the IRP Awards are the only recruitment sector awards hosted and awarded by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), providing an opportunity to celebrate excellence in recruitment, recognise individual and corporate success and promote best practice and professionalism across the industry.

The winners of the IRP Awards 2015 will be announced at a ceremony in London on Wednesday 9 December, 2015.

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Nursing Personnel awarded place on the new CCS Framework

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Medical Professional Personnel Limited T/A Nursing Personnel are delighted to be awarded a position on the new Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Multidisciplinary Temporary Healthcare Personnel Framework.

This has been the result of a competitive tendering process and Nursing Personnel looks forward to working with CCS and any Trusts utilising the framework agreement in the future. This Framework covers all medical disciplines across the entire United Kingdom.

Nursing Personnel are proud to be an approved NHS agency supplier on ALL existing Nursing Framework Agreements in the United Kingdom, including Health Trust Europe and the London Procurement Partnership.

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NHS introduces plans to curb agency spending

Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority announced details of plans to curb agency spending previously announced by the Secretary for Health, Jeremy Hunt.

From October 19th 2015, NHS trusts will only be able to use agencies on frameworks to secure agency staff. Off-framework agencies will only be allowed if the trust has prior permission from Monitor/TDA. Those trusts that still want to use off-framework agencies must prove they offer value for money, be a quality supplier of staff and have been procured in accordance with the relevant legislation.

Trusts will be set limits on how much can be spent on agency staff and a cap on hourly rates will be set in the near future. The ultimate aim of these measures is to reduce the annual £3.3bn agency bill.

The NHS Trust Development Authority’s Nursing Director, Peter Blythin, said: “Whilst a number of existing local frameworks work well to support local nurse directors to find high quality agency staff, there is a recognition that more can be done to give trusts greater powers to have more control over their use of agency staff in the future.”

Read the full article: NHS introduces plans to curb agency spending»

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Why Are Nursing Agencies Popular with Nurses in the UK?

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The NHS is one of the largest employers in the world, employing over 1.6 million people in the United Kingdom ».  The vast majority of its workforce is based in England, with over 351,000 nurses » employed. While working for the NHS is an excellent option for many nurses, temporary work offers many advantages. In this article, I will look at what factors influence nurses’ decisions to register with agencies.

A Choice of Locations is Vital

Having jobs in the right locations helps attract nurses from across the country and increases the number of filled shifts. We looked at our data (Nursing Personnel internal data) concerning the issue and found the following:

  • Visitors from regional cities such as Nottingham increased from 2.36% in July 2014 to January 2015 to 2.95% in the first half of this year. Coventry saw huge growth, rising to 1.23% after recording very little traffic in the July 2014 to January 2015.
  • Northern cities are proving popular, with nurses from Newcastle (2.73%), Manchester (1.76%) and Sheffield (2.3%) among the most engaged users.
  • Cities, unlike regional towns, dominate among sources of potential leads. The Midlands are one of the most popular locations, with Birmingham (6.14%) and Nottingham (3.1%) leading the charge.
  • Surprisingly, northern cities such as Newcastle upon Tyne (2.53%) and Manchester (1.69%), proved to be more popular among prospective leads than Southern cities such as Southampton (2%) and Plymouth (1.38%).

High Pay Rates are Important

Having jobs across a range of locations needs to be matched by competitive pay rates. Take a glance at nursing agency ads and you will notice rates, almost literally, popping out at you. Rates, of course, vary according to bands, professions and locations. You will earn more in a city but the cost of living will be much higher.

What are some good locations for nurses interested in working for high rates of pay? Nursing Personnel investigated this area (Nursing Personnel internal data) and came to the following conclusions:

  • Surprisingly, the Midlands is more popular among nurses looking for high rates than their Southern counterparts (Birmingham 4.75% vs Southampton 4%)
  • Nurses in smaller towns are more interested in rates at hospitals close to them. Scarborough (2%) and Swindon (2%) are as equally popular as Nottingham (2%) when it comes to the level of interest in rates.
  • London does not have an overall popularity in rates among nurses. Only 10.6% of nurses were interested in rates in the capital, suggesting a range of locations and rates are more attractive to RGNs registering at agencies.

Great Support is Essential

We recently ran a poll on social media to ask ‘what attracts you to nursing agencies?’ ‘Great support’ was the answer we got back ». Nurses looking at an agency with great locations and rates need the support to back them up, ensuring they can get booked into shifts quickly and easily.

Why Framework agencies are changing the market

Nurses looking to register with agencies should consider registering with framework agencies before signing-up elsewhere. Agencies on the national framework are highly regulated, with regular audits performed to ensure they are adhering to strict audit criteria.

Framework agencies aim to protect patients by meeting the NHS CQC standards for patient safety and protect nurses working to CQC best practice standards compliance. Agencies must pass audits otherwise they will not be able to supply nursing staff. They will always, therefore, have to maintain consistently high standards compared to off-framework agencies.

Nurses registering with these agencies will be required to undergo more thorough registration procedures, but the benefit is greater safety for patients at hospitals run by trusts which use framework agencies.

NHS trusts will have to choose framework agencies, increasing the level of available work for nurses. New measures announced by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in June will bar the use of off-framework agencies. If you want to work for agencies in the future, the only place to do so will be at a framework agency.

This is one of the major benefits of working for framework nursing agencies – for details, see the article: Clampdown on staffing agencies charging NHS extortionate rates ».

Technology may make a big difference to nurses in the future

According to the 2014 Mobile Consumer UK by Deloitte, over 35 million people in the UK have a smartphone ». The figure is 8% higher than 2013 and is growing rapidly thanks to the advent of 4G and free Wi-Fi almost everywhere you look. Technology is the cornerstone of agencies, which are primarily web-based, and rely on websites, apps and other technologies to help retain and recruit candidates. What does this mean for nurses interested in working for nursing agencies?

  • More training will be done online – Aurion Learning » predicts that “In 2019, 50 per cent of all classes will be delivered online.”
  • Your nursing agency app could also be the gateway to training sessions. Aurion » says that “Currently, 74 per cent of people use mobile devices for E-learning.” Your iPad or iPhone could be used instead of a classroom.
  • Having a great social media and blogging presence will increasingly be more attractive to nurses in the future. There are 1.28 billion Facebook users according to Digital Insights », while “23% of internet time is spent on blogs and social networks” – a great agency blog with engaging and original content will always be more appealing to nurses.

 Conclusion: Why are nurses choosing to register with agencies?

The United Kingdom has one of the well-respected healthcare systems in the world. Full Fact says research done by the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation indicated “England had 5.8 nurses (including midwives and health visitors) per 1,000 of the population in 2011 according to analysis by the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation ».”

According to the latest Care Quality Commission inpatient satisfaction survey, 27% of respondents gave a 10 out of 10 rating » to the treatment received.  Nursing agencies help ensure these high standards are maintained by providing additional staff when and as needed.

Our article has shown that agencies are attracting nurses because of competitive rates of pay and jobs across a range of locations.  Framework agencies offer a high standard of staffing to clients thanks to rigorous audits which safeguard patient safety.

Nursing Personnel at the RCN Bulletin Jobs Fair in Birmingham

Nursing Personnel recently attended the RCN Bulletin Jobs Fair in Birmingham on July 2nd and 3rd. Our resident photographer was on hand to take photos of the visitors to our stand and the team members present at the event (Sharon Robinson (Group HR Officer) and Catherine Paterson (Clinical Manager) ):

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