Welcome to Knockdene HealthCare – a progressive new nursing agency that will
operate throughout Northern Ireland, helping you with short and long-term staffing
solutions.
With over 20 years of experience in healthcare and recruitment, the management of
Knockdene HealthCare understands the importance of consistency and continuity
when placing staff. With this in mind we are committed to providing you with
experienced and competent staff - quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.
Our office is open Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm. However, in order that we can
successfully meet your needs, we provide a 24-hour service to you 365 days a year
operating an on-call system out-of-hours and on bank holidays at the above mobile
number.
Our Ethos and Philosophy of Care
At Knockdene HealthCare, our philosophy and ethos is to provide quality care you
can trust. We are committed to working in partnership and building strong working
relationships with you, our clients, and our staff. We will endeavour to provide the
highest level of support to you both at all times. We will continuously strive to provide
a premium service, making ourselves available 24/7, 365 days a year. Our rigorous
pre-employment compliance and background checks on all nurses and health care
assistants (HCA) who join our agency will ensure they have been recruited to the
high standards in line with all relevant legislation.
Our logo is the butterfly, the embodiment of gentleness, compassion and positive
change. This is the ideal emblem for our nursing agency that strives for the same
goals in our provision of care.
Our Aims and Objectives
To provide a high quality, cost effective service through recruiting nurses and healthcare assistants (HCAs) who are suitably qualified, competent and experienced to undertake the activities for which they are employed and responsible
To ensure all care is delivered in accordance with the requirements of our clients and their patients, treating them with dignity and respect at all times
To provide our services 24-hours a day ensuring that we can successfully meet the needs of our clients and staff
To promote equality and diversity amongst our workforce
To ensure all staff receive appropriate training and development
To implement all our policies and procedures in order to ensure quality, minimise risk and maintain compliance with all legislative requirements including the Nursing Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and Nursing Agencies Minimum Standards 2005 DHSSPS
We believe our service is stronger with input from our clients and staff and will continually seek their feedback on how we can enhance and improve our services
Settings and Qualifications
Knockdene HealthCare will provide nurses and HCA to:
• NHS Trusts
• Nursing and Residential Homes
• Private Healthcare providers
• GP surgeries and treatment rooms
• Occupational Health Departments
The range of staff we provide will be able to work in a wide variety of settings depending on
their skills and qualifications. We can provide specialist nurses as well as general and
mental health nurses.
Compliance and Background Checks
Knockdene HealthCare will conduct rigorous compliance and background checks on
all nurses and HCA who join our agency to ensure they have been recruited to a
high standard in line with all relevant legislation.
Data Protection, Security and Confidentiality
Knockdene HealthCare complies with the Data Protection Act 1998 and is committed
to ensuring that all data entrusted to us will be kept confidential, secure and used
only for the purposes intended.
All staff must adhere to Knockdene HealthCare’s confidentiality policy at all times,
respecting and protecting information and confidences shared. If information needs
to be disclosed we will seek permission before doing so except when required by
legislation or the need to protect the wellbeing of others. Knockdene HealthCare
considers a breach of confidentiality to be gross misconduct and any such breach
will be treated accordingly.
All Knockdene HealthCare nurses and HCA are required to wear an identity badge
assuring you that they are who they claim to be and are representing us. We can
confirm the identity of our staff at any time.
Non-Discrimination
Knockdene HealthCare will not allow service users to be subjected to discrimination
for any reason and expect that all service users will be treated equally and fairly
regardless of their race, colour, nationality, gender, marital status, sexual orientation,
religious, disability or age. We operate an Equal Opportunities Policy in our
recruitment and registration procedures, which ensures that nurses and HCA are
selected on the basis of their ability to fulfil the requirements of the job. Knockdene
HealthCare promotes a working environment that is free from harassment or
intimidation and views harassment towards a service user, a member of staff or an
agency worker as a serious breach of conduct.
Booking of Staff
Knockdene HealthCare operates a 24-hour booking service to ensure we meet our
clients staffing requirements. All bookings will be dealt with promptly and
professionally. Confirmation of the staff member covering the shift will be emailed to
you complete with their unique booking reference number for your records.
Cancelling a Shift
We require a minimum or 48 hours when cancelling a shift with Knockdene
HealthCare in order to secure an alternative placement for our staff member.
Sickness
In the event of a Knockdene HealthCare employee cancelling a shift due to
sickness/unforeseen circumstances we will inform you immediately by phone and
take appropriate measures to secure an alternative staff member
Timesheets and Invoicing
In line with Knockdene HealthCare’s Terms and Conditions it is the responsibility of
the staff member to ensure timesheets are submitted on a weekly basis for
processing of wages.
Completed timesheets should be authorised by a senior member of staff highlighting
accurate hours of work and break times.
Clients will receive weekly invoices for our services accompanied by the
corresponding timesheet. Any issues relating to accounts should be raised
immediately.
Charges
Charges are calculated by the number of hours worked by the nurse/HCA (rounded
to the nearest quarter hour) and will be subject to review. Charges will be quoted in
advance of the assignment. A copy of our Terms and Conditions is available on
request.
Health and Safety
Knockdene HealthCare has a responsibility to ensure that all reasonable precautions
are taken to provide safe and healthy working conditions which comply with all
statutory requirements.
Both employer and employee have a legal requirement to work in accordance with
the Health and Safety recommendations set out by the Health and Safety at Work
Act 1974.
All staff are advised that they are not to undertake any tasks that they consider
unsafe.
Monitoring and Quality Assurance
As a service user of Knockdene HealthCare we are committed to delivering services
to you of the highest quality. We aim to do this by ensuring rigorous recruitment and
selection procedures are in place to guarantee that only suitably qualified, competent
and experienced nurses are appointed. These procedures include:
• Face to face interviews
• 2 satisfactory written references checked
• Nurses registration with the NMC confirmed
• Professional and vocational qualifications confirmed
• Any gaps in employment history explored and explanations sought
• AccessNI check sought
• All staff will undergo a mandatory induction programme during which
they will receive opportunities for training and development
Knockdene HealthCare operates robust monitoring systems which allow us to
constantly evaluate and improve our services. Risk management, audits, compliance
and clinical governance is at the forefront of our organisation, giving you and our
staff the confidence when using our services.
Service User Feedback
At Knockdene HealthCare we believe that in order to enhance and improve our
services we need feedback from you and our staff. Therefore we will regularly ask
you for your views on our service through:
• Questionnaires: we will post out satisfaction questionnaires and may conduct
telephone surveys • Review meetings at which feedback is sought
Feedback from you and staff will be audited regularly by the Registered Manager,
the results of which will be retained and made available for inspection.
Complaints
At Knockdene HealthCare we believe that compliments and complaints are an
important way for us to learn and improve our service. If for any reason you are not
entirely satisfied with any aspect of the service you have received from Knockdene
HealthCare, then we would like you to let us know.
Our commitment to you is that all complaints will be taken seriously, acknowledged
within 2 working days and will be fully investigated thoroughly and confidentially.
We aim to fully respond to complaints within 28 days to address concerns and let
you know of any actions taken as a result. Where this is not possible, you will be
kept informed of any delays.
All efforts will be made to resolve the complaint however if having received our reply
you are still unhappy then you can contact the Northern Ireland Public Services
Ombudsman.
You can find out more about the services of the ombudsman by contacting:
The Patient and Client Council is your independent voice in health and social care. If you
would like to seek independent advice and support then you can contact them on:
Tel: 0800 9170222
Email: info.pcc@hscni.net
Reportable Events
Regarding complaints of a serious nature- evidence of malpractice or a reportable
event - Knockdene HealthCare will immediately notify the Regulation and Quality
Improvement Authority (RQIA), the Police, Protection of Vulnerable Adults or
Children and where applicable the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC):
The regulatory body for Northern Ireland is RQIA and they can be contacted at:
The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority
9th Floor Riverside Tower
5 Lanyon Place
Belfast
BT1 3BT
Tel: 02890 517500
A copy of our Complaints Policy is available for inspection on request.
Insurance
Knockdene HealthCare has comprehensive insurance cover in place, a copy of
which is available for inspection on request.
Ciara Osborne RGN, MBA in Health & Social Care Management
Ciara has over 30 years experience working in the health service. 20 years in hospital trusts
as a staff nurse and sister and 10 years as a senior nurse in performance management and
service improvement at the Health & Social Care Board.
Eileen McCann, CIPD Certificate in HR Practice (Level 3)
Eileen has worked in the field of Healthcare Recruitment for 21 years for two privately
owned nursing agencies playing a key role in setting up and overseeing the growth of their
business.
Organisational Structure
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