PULSE, a market-leading provider of healthcare recruitment solutions, is one of 50 agencies to be awarded the National Framework Agreement for the supply of temporary Allied Health Professionals (AHP) and Health Science Service (HSS) staff to all NHS bodies within the UK.
The contract, giving access to the £96m AHP/HSS market, will run for a period of three years, with a possible extension of a further 12 months.
PULSE successfully passed a supplier audit evaluation, pre-qualification stages and a competitive pricing round to secure the contract.
During the selection process, PULSE was assessed on its capability to meet NHS standards, capacity to deliver and track record, including satisfactory customer references.
Agencies included in the agreement must meet stringent quality standards and are subject to rigorous independent audit by NHS PASA.
Agencies who fail the audit process may be removed from the contract with immediate effect. The intention is to give NHS organisations the confidence that agencies signed up to the agreement will adhere to quality and security guidelines.
In addition to the statutory requirements, temporary workers supplied by PULSE also receive mandatory training to ensure that only competent and qualified professionals are responsible for patient care.
Commenting on the contract, CEO at PULSE, Richard MacMillan said:
“PULSE is pleased to have been awarded the NHS Framework Agreement for the supply of temporary Allied Health Professionals and Health Science Service staff to the NHS. It is concerning that there are a number of agencies operating outside the framework that fail to deliver the same level of safety and quality assurance checks that is required of agencies in the agreement.
“It is essential that patients are confident in the fact that the healthcare professional treating them has been carefully vetted and received the appropriate background checks. By choosing a agency on the framework agreement, NHS Trusts can ensure that only competent and qualified staff are responsible for the treatment of patients.”
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