Standard Nursing Agency’s hours of operation are as follows

• Monday – Friday 08.45am to 17.30pm
• Out of Office hours:6am-8:45am & 17.30-22.30pm Weekdays
• Weekends & Bank Holidays: 24hrs On-Call Service

Standard Nursing Agency has the following Insurance Cover:

• Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Employers Liability Insurance
• Public Liability Insurance

Once Standard Nursing Agency has supplied the service user with an agency worker the agency worker, will be issued with a timesheet for completion at the end of each assignment.

• The authorised person at the unit or the service user should sign the timesheet after the shift verifying the number of hours worked by the agency worker during that week.
• All completed signed timesheets must be submitted to the office not later than Tuesday noon.
• Timesheets older than four weeks old will not be paid.
• Completed timesheets are returned to the agency on a regular basis and retained on individual files as a permanent record of care provision.
• The accounts officer checks the timesheets against the order to ensure that it is accurate before invoicing the service user.
• Where the service user is paying the agency worker’s mileage, an expenses form from the service user should be completed.

In the event to an agency worker not being able to attend an assignment due to sickness they must inform the agency manager immediately or give at least 12 hours notice so that SNA can make arrangements for the service user.  In circumstances which are outside the agency workers control they must give at least 3 hours notice to the agency.

The client agrees to make payments to SNA in accordance with the hourly rate agreed between the client and the agency worker at the commencement of the assignment.

The sums payable by the client are comprised mainly of the agency workers remuneration which is calculated according to the hours worked by the agency worker plus employers national insurance contributions and sums due in respect of holiday pay and agency commission.

VAT is charged only on the agency’s commission.

SNA’s charges and the relevant payments referred to above are invoiced to the client on a weekly basis and payable within 20 days. SNA reserves the right to charge interest monthly on any overdue amounts at the rate of 4% above the base rate from the due date, compounded monthly until the date of payment.

The arrangements for cancellation of the supply of an agency worker by the service user are:

• The service user will be charged for two hours of the grade of the agency worker if the nurse is already on the ward and the shift is cancelled.
• The service user will not be charged if the shift is cancelled two hours before the start time.
• If the shift is cancelled an hour before the start of the shift then the service user will be charged for two hours of the grade of the agency worker.

Standard Nursing Agency will cease to provide services to a service user:

• If continuing to provide a service would constitute a risk to the service user or nurse e.g. the client is aggressive/ violent towards the nurse.
• If the nurse is suffering from unfair discrimination from the service user e.g. racial abuse.
• If the service user requests an immediate removal of an agency worker from an assignment on grounds of competency or public interest.

Standard Nursing Agency takes complaints very seriously. The Agency is customer driven and treats all complaints as an opportunity to continually improve the level of service it provides to all its’ client organisations.
 
The Agency will fully support and co-operate with any investigation that is initiated and undertaken by any one of the recognised health sector professional bodies.  The agency shall supply a written copy of its written policy to every service user and upon request, to any person acting on behalf of a service user.

The procedures are designed to enable the agency and the service user to investigate and resolve complaints promptly and in accordance with strict time scales.

All complaints made by the service user will be acknowledged promptly and the agency will keep a full written copy of the nature of each complaint and details of action taken as a result of the complaint.

The agency’s complaints procedure is a two-stage process, which has clearly defined levels of accountability and timescales by which key actions must be completed.
In those instances where complaints relate to professional misconduct they will be referred in writing immediately to the professional conduct department manager, Nursing and Midwifery Council (NWC), 23 Portland Place, London W1B 1P2.

At any stage the complainant may complain to the CQC:

Care Quality Commission
Brent and Harrow Area Office
4th Floor Aspect Gate
166 College Road
Harrow
London HA11

Tel: 020 8420 0100
Fax: 0208420 0119

Our guiding principles are:

• Recruiting staff are properly trained and equipped to satisfy all their statutory obligations.
• Open and fair processes of selection
• Assessment of skills against clearly defined criteria
• Feedback to candidates
• Rigorous professional and statutory checks applied to all staff selected for registration with the agency
• NMC pin number and date of expiry
• Enhanced CRB Checks
• ISO 9002 Quality Standard

Throughout our recruitment process all candidates will have a face to face interview by our senior nurse manager.

It is a requirement that all candidates must have at least 2 years related healthcare experience and two references are required with one of these coming from present or must recent employer.

SNA has a policy that all employment gaps must be accounted for. Before registering with SNA all candidates must have their annual training updated and original evidence of this is required. All agency workers are provided with individual training records to facilitate their continued professional development needs.

SNA is committed to the highest standards throughout the recruitment process.  The recruitment of high calibre and competent staff is critical in the provision of good quality service to our clients.

SNA’s recruitment policy demonstrates the agency’s commitment to the highest standards of rigorous assessment of all prospective applicants through a fair and equitable process of selection.

We are committed to maintaining and improving the quality of our service. We have a comprehensive Quality Policies and Procedures Manual, which is constantly under review and revision. All significant policies are contained here including our complaints procedure. An important part of our approach to quality assurance is to obtain the views of all our stakeholders, particularly those of clients and their representatives. As part of the agency’s commitment to quality it has adopted a Quality Management System that has gained BSEN ISO 9001:2000 certification specifically focused on the healthcare sector.

Standard Nursing is committed to providing quality services to all our clients and working within a culture whereby we aim to continually improve performance through innovation and professional commitment.

The agency is fully committed to staff learning and development. The nurses currently recruited on our books are:-

• Registered General Nurses
• Midwives
• Registered Mental Health
• Sick Children’s Nurses
• Mental handicapped Nurses
• Specialist nurses
• Intensive Care
• Coronary Care
• Neonatal
• Theatre
• Accident and emergency
• Healthcare Assistants
• Domiciliary Care Workers

How is the agency organised?

The overall management responsibility of the agency is shared by the proprietor, the agency manager and bookings co-ordinators.  The agency manager is supported by the compliance officer and booking co-ordinators who deal with the day–to-day placements of nurses in hospitals.  Staff cover for the agency is on a 24hr/7days basis.  This system allows for members of staff to be on duty for AM/PM duty. There is also an on-call system for out of office hour’s assistance.

Who does Standard Nursing Agency provide services to?

Standard Nursing Agency supplies nurses to work in Hospitals, nursing homes, residential homes and people living in their own homes.

What does Standard Nursing Agency aim to do?

The specific aims and objectives of the Agency are:

• To provide quality service for our patients under the Care Standard Act 2000.
• To provide unmatched care in a climate of mutual support and compassion.
• To take appropriate safeguards for service users to ensure the safety and quality of our service.
To provide the highest standards of healthcare through on-going supervision, in-service training and evaluation of our staff.
• To provide quality service that respects the dignity of the human person and the promotion of human wholeness.
• To provide quality care for each individual in a spirit of compassion, concern and commitment.
• To be cognizant of the needs of the vulnerable and people with special needs.
• To provide quality healthcare that enhances the lives of patients.
• To provide vetted quality nursing/care workers who have the requisite training and have gone through induction program.
• To provide quality personnel in all categories of the caring profession in the following areas: Critical Care, Accident and Emergency, Medical and Surgical, Elderly Care, Learning Disabilities, Psychiatry and General Nursing.
• To provide on going in–service training to keep our staff current and abreast of new developments in the care profession.
• To enable us maintain the highest standards and meet the high level of care, that our clients deserve and our contractors expect, we provide on-going supervision and evaluation of our staff.