LEADING RECRUITMENT IN HEALTHCARE
01772 202 555 | 07554 770051 | info@1stmed.co.uk

FAQ's

1. What are the vetting procedures of 1st Med?

1st Med follows a very stringent recruitment procedure which exceeds minimum standards set for our industry, to ensure our workers are suitably experienced, trained and matched for the needs of the service. Workers are always interviewed in person with a full assessment interview based around the Walker recommendations. Each worker supplies their full work history, have a minimum of 2 references covering a minimum of the last 3 years, a fully enhanced DBS Disclosure is undertaken and finally they embark on the Skills for Care induction standards prior to being placed.

2. Can we speak to a consultant outside office hours?

1st Med office hours are Monday to Sunday 7:30am - 10:30pm. Outside of these times we operate an on-call out of hours service which runs from 10:30pm - 7:30 am every day, ensuring no matter when your staffing needs arise the solution is just a phone call away.

3. What happens once a worker has been placed?

1st Med support continues long after a shift has been filled. We aim to work in partnership with your service to ensure that not only are your staffing problems solved but that a quality and consistent service is delivered. Our trained consultants can visit you on a regular basis to ensure the services we provide meet your needs and that our workers are performing above and beyond standards of care. If any problems should arise they will be dealt with immediately and in a sound professional manner. We encourage progress reports on our workers to support the continued delivery of service and the workers personal development and whilst we don't want to overwhelm you with contact we feel good strong communication links are the key to excellent quality service delivery.

4. What training and support is given to 1st Med workers?

Continued professional development of our workers is paramount to us here at 1st Med. All workers once registered go through the Skills for Care induction process. As part of that process we complete a training needs analysis assessment and subsequently develop a rolling training & development plan which covers all mandatory training as set down by National Minimum Standards. 1st Med also offers on-line training for those unable to attend on site training. For more details please see the "candidates" section of our website.

5. Will I have to keep introducing new agency workers to service users?

One of our major key performance indicators in assessing the quality of service delivery is consistency of workers provided. We know that inconsistent workers is sometimes unavoidable due to the emergency nature of cover needed, however, we will always try and have a pool of workers solely inducted into your service we will call upon as a priority when you have a need. We know the last thing your staff team need is to be consistently inducting and monitoring new staff in order to get the support they need.

6. What are 1st Med professional memberships and accreditations?

1st Med is an accredited framework provider and therefore has a exemplary recruitment policy that ensures it is able to deliver quality services to it's clients. One of our major key performance indicators in assessing the quality of service delivery is consistency of workers provided. We know that inconsistent workers is sometimes unavoidable due to the emergency nature of cover needed, however, we will always try and have a pool of workers solely inducted into your service we will call upon as a priority when you have a need. We know the last thing your staff team need is to be consistently inducting and monitoring new staff in order to get the support they need.

7. Will 1st Med cost more than my own staff?

Initially utilizing the services of 1st Med may appear to be more costly than permanent members of staff. However, when taking additional charges into consideration, for example: wages, national insurance contributions, holiday pay, sick pay, recruitment costs including advertising, DBS and occupational health checks and any subsequent training, the costs work out much cheaper.

8. How do we arrange payment?

1st Med's Finance Department has a simple and user friendly invoicing and payment system. When a shift has been completed by a 1st Med worker a time sheet needs to be signed by an authorized person in the relevant client site and is then forwarded to our finance department who then sends out a weekly invoice with a copy of the relevant time sheet. Time sheets must be filled out correctly signed by the authorized signatory and worker and submitted by Monday 10 am the latest. In case of delay of submission there maybe a delay in the worker receiving payment. In the event of any queries you can speak to our finance department who will be more than happy to assist with any problems which may arise.

10. Can 1st Med provide staff to the NHS?

Yes, 1st Med are contracted to the NHS framework to supply nurses and healthcare staff.

1st Med Ltd
35 Manchester Road,
Preston
PR1 3YH
Tel: 01772 914133.