INDUCTION POLICY

All new employees are assessed on their need induction training and must either undergo an informal induction or a more rigorous Orientation. However the process for Qualified staff and trained Carers differs owing to the heightened responsibility and clinical expertise that must be demonstrated by the more senior employee.

Care Staff:

Prior to offering any new employee their first shift their suitability to provide the ‘correct’ service to a client must be ascertained. As part of the final interview the Carer’s clinical skills must be proven to be competent, and an applicant is only processed for employment once these skills have been established. If the Office Manager is convinced of the Carer’s competence to carry out their duties and the employee has at least two years experience of working on hospital wards with precisely the same person specification, the Manager might permit the Carer to undergo an ‘informal induction’. A client is always notified if a new employee is to be provided and this remains the case with informal inductions. A client may refuse an informal induction, if he or she feels that a more formal arrangement should be provided and the final decision will remain with the client at all times. The informal induction is a process by which the new employee is sent to a workplace for a placement where a senior employee of Corporate Nursing Agency is employed on a regular basis. The new employee, on the strength of their past experience will therefore be employed in much the same way as an existing employee but their performance is continually monitored by the senior member of staff. If the senior member of staff is satisfied with the performance of the new employee throughout their first shift and has confidence in their ability to carry out their role, the new employee will be put forward in future to work in the same manner as existing employees. In any other scenario, a ‘formal induction’ (Orientation) must be arranged in collaboration with the client and by prior arrangement. Orientation is where the client appoints a full-time member of his healthcare team to monitor the individual skills of the new employee on a practical level. A standard induction checklist is provided by Corporate Nurses together with the standard letter of introduction with all new employees are given on their first placement by Corporate. The standard checklist, enclosed herein, is to be filled in by the appointed Senior member of staff over the course of two shifts on separate days, typically one early shift and one late. Only upon the receipt of a satisfactory report will the new member of staff be put forward for employment once more. The client pays no fee for a formal induction and there is no time-sheet to be signed. The employee is duly reimbursed by Corporate for his time at the standard rate for the role that he/she is undertaking. All records of induction and Orientation are kept in the Staff Appraisal file and a duplicate copy placed in the individual file of that particular employee.

Qualified Staff:

Nurses may only undertake placements that they are suitably qualified to carry out in line with the NHS ‘person specification’, a full copy of which is available in the office handbook. All qualified staff with at least two years experience of working in hospitals under the same specialisation, having satisfied the Corporate interview requirements and clinical standard tests are deemed suitable to practice under their person specification only and must undergo an informal induction at the workplace of the client. The induction is arranged at a time suitable for both parties and the client agrees to appoint a more Senior Nurse to work alongside the new employee to assess their clinical skills alongside their managerial/supervisory aptitude. The nurse will be expected to carry out routine duties for his/her grade, such as drug administration and will be assessed according to these criteria. The Office Manager contacts the Ward towards the end of the first shift to assess whether or not the Nurse is carrying out her duties to the satisfaction of the Charge Nurse. If his/her performance is satisfactory and the duties are performed competently then the Nurse will in future be employed in the same manner as an existing employee of Corporate. Where any Nurse is newly qualified or has less than two years hospital experience under the same specialisation then a more formal induction is required. By prior arrangement the Nurse covers two different shifts at the same ward under the supervision of the same Senior Nurse (employed by the client). The client is not billed for the two shifts worked but the new employee is reimbursed for their time at the standard\rate for an employee of their grade. Again the Office Manager contacts the Senior Nurse at the end of the second day to ascertain the Nurse’s clinical competence and supervisory skills and can only be put forward for future employment if these criteria are satisfied. All information communicated to the Office Manager is then kept for the employee’s individual file and a duplicate kept in the Staff Appraisal file. In all cases, informal induction and orientation policy is decided in collaboration with the client. The specific requirements of different trusts, hospitals and wards are always recognised and every effort is made to accommodate these differences. The precise details of each induction/orientation are addressed at each regular meeting between the Office manager and the Client. Assessment criteria are largely based upon the person specification according to the Regional Framework Agreement but are modified according to the size of the wards, the care needs of the patients therein and the equipment being utilised. As employee’s developmental needs increase it often becomes necessary to orientate existing members of staff to new disciplines once they have attained the necessary qualifications to carry out their new ‘person specification’.