Measles and Mumps requirements for Nursing Agency Staff

Agency nurses working in the UK must be fully compliant with Department of Health Measles and Mumps requirements to be eligible for work with the A24 Group. The Department of Health has now written to Trusts to inform them that all healthcare professionals should be able to prove immunity. Visit www.nsofuk.com

Candidates will need to produce written evidence in the form of a compliant certificate of fitness. This requires that candidates have the following evidence available: proof of positive antibody for Measles and Rubella; or that they have received two MMR Vaccinations; or that they have received a series of two Measles, Rubella and also Mumps Vaccinations (so 6 in total).   Also, if a candidate has a positive antibody for Measles and Rubella but his or her mumps are negative or equivocal then appropriate action must be taken as mumps immunity is still necessary. For more details contact us on this web site: www.nsofuk.com   The latest figures show the uptake of the MMR triple vaccine in the community has risen slightly to 89.6% from 83.4%. However, they are still a long way off the 95% level needed to provide "herd immunisation" and prevent the disease taking hold in the community among unvaccinated people. Some states in the USA now have a requirement for children to be vaccinated before they start at school. The country has a 99% uptake of MMR among school entry children. For more information:- View Contact Details You can also visit our Facebook Page or Follow us on Twitter Blog: blog.a24group.co.uk For further media information please click here

NSSA launches New Nursing Agency in the UK

NSSA (Nursing Services of South Africa) has launched a new nursing agency for the recruitment and placement of nurses in the UK. Particular areas of specialisation for Nursing Services of the UK include its 24-7 service 365 days of the year: agency nurses and healthcare providers can contact a member of the agency support team 24 hours a day. The agency has invested in one of the most advanced ICT systems to manage compliance, supported by a specialist in-house team to follow up references and verify credentials. The ICT system is used to ensure a fast and accurate match of a candidate’s qualifications, experience and location with the needs of each healthcare provider who requires staff.

Once medical staff have met compliance requirements, Nursing Services of the UK provides personnel for temporary and longer term assignments in NHS Trusts, private hospitals, GP surgeries and with other healthcare service providers nationwide. Established over 60 years ago, NSSA has long experience as one of the leading nursing agencies in the recruitment, management and assignment of medical staff in the demanding healthcare staffing environment of South Africa. NSSA was acquired in 2006 by Ambition 24hours and the A24 Group, amongst the UK's most innovative temporary nursing agencies. The A24 Group was the first healthcare agency in the UK, and then South Africa, to offer a 24-7 service, 365 days a year. The agency has completed the biggest ICT support project of its kind in the sector, say the Directors: "We have brought to the industry all the benefits of the latest technology for the efficient and safe management, monitoring and verification of medical staffing people. This means that we can instantly match our clients needs with the most suitable, qualified nurses, and enable candidates to better manage their work-life balance through a host of on-line facilities. Technology underpins the helpful and friendly human interface that we can offer through our trained, experienced team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. "We have a firm policy of not seeking to recruit staff from Africa for our UK operations. This is because we hear at first hand from doctors and nurses the consequences of this type of activity by staffing agencies and employers from developed countries - not only recruiters in the UK, but also those in the USA, Ireland, Canada and Australia in particular. Our goal is to ensure that we can bring our international experience in health staffing to alleviate the staffing issues here in the UK." Nursing Services of the UK is now registering nurses to fill a wide range of vacancies immediately throughout the UK, for all grades of nurses. For more information:- View Contact Details You can also visit our Facebook Page or Follow us on Twitter Blog: blog.a24group.co.uk For further media information please click here