As of 15th June 2010 the commencement of voluntary registration with the new Vetting & Barring Scheme (VBS) was halted to allow time for the scheme to be re-modelled. The full scope of the re-modelling is currently being finalised and we await further details from the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) as to what it will entail.

Parts of the scheme already introduced such the new safeguarding regulations introduced in October 2009 remain in place. This places a legal obligation on all organisations to report anyone they deem to be a risk to children or vulnerable adults to the ISA. Medacs Healthcare supports any schemes to further protect patients and as such has introduced internal procedures to ensure this process is followed fully. Our Clinical Governance Manager is reponsible for making the decision on whether a Locum Doctor should be reported to the ISA and if appropriate the GMC.

At all times Medacs Healthcare will ensure the Locum Doctors we supply meet the requirements for any regulations brought into place.

Under an EU directive, the GMC cannot systematically test the language skills or clinical competence of European doctors when registering them to work as Doctors in the National Health Service (NHS).

NHS/GMC must accept qualifications from within the European Union and cannot require them to undertake further exams, despite being able to conduct language and competency tests on Doctors from the rest of the world (including English speaking countries such as the USA and Australia).

Medacs Healthcare Checks

Medacs Healthcare would like to reassure our clients that we follow the requirements set out by OGC in the framework agreement to ensure our Locum Doctors have proficient language skills prior to being put forward for a locum position. For all registrations Medacs Healthcare undertake:

• Telephone Interviews – For All Doctors
• Face 2 Face Interviews – For All Doctors
• IELTS Checks - For all Non – EU Doctors

Should we identify in any of these stages that the Locum Doctor does not have adequate English language skills we will put the registration on hold and advise the Locum Doctor to seek further education.

The NHS spent around £125million on non-framework agency usage of medical locums in 2009. It is estimated this cost the NHS 20-30% more than using approved locum agencies. There are clear cost benefits of using OGC Buying Solutions approved agencies but more importantly is the peace of mind and re-assurance of using medical locums who are fully compliant in accordance with OGC’s contractual requirements. Below is a full list of the benefits.

• Mitigation of Risk through the use of vetted and audited agencies for clinical agency staff
• Legal protection from agreed contractual requirements covering such matters as placement fees, insurances, transparent imesheets and invoicing including beneficial payment terms and professional conduct and relevant legislation
• Competitive rates and a range of further discounts obtained from agencies using the collective bargaining power of the NHS
• The ability to tailor the local service level agreement with agencies to meet local requirements

Medacs Healthcare has invested significantly in a new, innovative CRB E-bulk solution which enables us to process applications electronically and reduces the time taken to obtain a disclosure by up to 60%.

As the CRB results are obtained significantly sooner, locums are able to undertake work much more quickly, thus increasing the number of locums available to you. The system is also ISA (Independent Safeguarding Authority) enabled.

This innovative solution ensures that, as the market leader, we have access to the most effective systems and processes available enabling us to continue to supply a large volume of high quality, risk managed locums across all regions of the UK.

The CRB E-bulk system is currently being rolled out to Locum Doctors with enhanced checks being returned within 48 hours.