Verification of Professional Registration & Qualifications

Policy Statement:

The purpose of this document is to provide a structured procedure to how the details are checked, assessed, and administered.

 

Scope:

This policy outlines the process for the verification of Professional Registration check and validation of academic qualifications, it details best practice and ensures that the process of validation is in line with business rules and legislation.

 

The Verification of Professional Registration and Qualification Check procedure will involve all parties involved with the assessment of a candidate’s suitability for work, key stake holders are defined as:

 

• Employees
• Management
• External Auditors
• External Clients
• Insurance Providers

 

The policy shall be reviewed and maintained in line with advice supplied by Government Bodies, Framework Organisation, and specific client agreements.

 

Objectives:

• To ensure that all candidates Professional Registration and qualifications are validated and reviewed to the required statutory requirements
• To ensure 100% of all candidate’s professional Registration is verified and deemed to be valid
• The ensure that all qualification are vetted to meet NHS employer’s expectation.
• To continually examine the effectiveness of this process ensuring continuous improvement of process proving a robust process.
• Social Objectives
  • Does the process meet the needs of the business and satisfy all legal and social responsibilities? Are our employees fully aware of their role in ensuring all applicants are screened in line with the process? Are all employees trained to meet the requirement within this process, how are we collecting feedback on the process to ensure we focus on continuous improvement.

 

Overview

Amare Health’s professional registration and qualifications checking procedure is fully compliant with the client, local authority, or governing body’s employment check standards.  All health professionals will have their registration and fitness to practice / licence to practice checked with the relevant regulatory body in line with the role for which they have applied.

 

The checks will ensure that the candidate:

 

• Has the necessary skills and qualifications for the job that they are applying for? and.
• If applicable to the role, they are registered with the relevant professional body and they meet the required standards of training, competency and conduct to practice safely in their chosen profession.

 

Checks will only be done on qualifications and professional registrations that are required for the position being applied for.  All compliance checks are undertaken with written permission from the candidate and are done pre-placement and only ever by face-to-face verification of original documentation and/or checks of the relevant regulatory body’s registers.  Applicants are advised that any offer of work will be based upon satisfactory registration and qualification checks, and that such an offer may be withdrawn if they knowingly withhold information or provide false or misleading information in relation to professional registration or qualifications.  If such information comes to light after assignment / employment, then the assignment / employment may be terminated.

 

On completion of the check, we take a scanned copy of each document and retain these on file.  All scanned documents are date stamped and certified by a member of our team who has been trained to carry out this check.  Our recruitment software will be updated accordingly with details of the check carried out and confirming that the person’s professional registration number, licence, or fitness to practice and qualifications have been verified in accordance with the required standards.  The system will also be updated with the individual’s registration number and dates of future rechecks, revalidation and expiry dates of any professional registrations / qualifications.  This will prompt our Compliance Manager schedule the checks in advance to ensure continuity of work for the individual concerned.  It is a contractual condition for healthcare workers to maintain their professional registration with the relevant regulatory body throughout the term of engagement / employment.  Should their professional registration lapse or be suspended, we will terminate the assignment / employment in roles that require this registration immediately.

 

All data is processed, stored, and disposed of in compliance with the GDPR.

 

Processes are fully auditable via our recruitment software, which dates and timestamps all activity ensuring all compliance checks relating to our contracts and legislation are completed as specified.

 

Changes of Name

Whilst an individual may choose to change their name at any time and be known by this name without going through any official legal process, Amare Health will only accept registrations / certificates in the applicants’ previous name and where they are able to provide one of the following pieces of supporting documentary evidence of their name change:

 

• A marriage or civil partnership certificate.
• A decree absolute or civil partnership dissolution certificate.
• A deed poll certificate.
• A recognition certificate.

 

Verification of Professional Registration

Candidates will be required to provide their registration number and confirm their consent for Amare Health to check their registration.  It will also be a condition of their employment that should their registration be suspended; their assignment / employment will be terminated, and they will be excluded from the work for which the registration is required unless it is reinstated.

 

Before appointing any health professional, Amare Health will check:

 

• That the applicant is the person registered with that regulatory body and that they are actively registered to carry out the proposed role.
• That there are no restrictions on their registration that may affect their ability to undertake the duties of the proposed role.
• That there are no pending investigations on their fitness to practice by the regulatory body.

 

 

 

 

 

HPAN Checks:

Hpan checks consists of checking registered Healthcare professionals on the HPANs system to identity any notices that may have been issued on a professional who may pose a significant risk of harm to patients, staff or the public.

 

Every candidate that registers with our agency undergoes a pre-employment check using the email below:

 

[email protected]

 

If a positive check is received we inform the candidate and request further information. Following an internal investigation and risk assessment we make a decision on if that candidate is eligible to continue the registration process.

 

HPAN check process:

A HPAN check must be carried out for every Healthcare professional that we register in the below process:

 

1. Email template for HPAN checks must be sent to HPAN checking email [email protected]
2. Email body must include the individuals full official name, regulator/profession and the registration number/pin
3. Once a response is received, the full email trail must be saved in the individuals compliance folder.

Qualification Checks

All qualifications that are essential to the role applied for will be validated prior to assignment.  If the individual has had their qualifications checked by the relevant professional regulatory body and their registration has been confirmed, Amare Health will not validate their qualifications in a separate check as the relevant documentary evidence will have been provided to and validated by that regulator.

 

Qualifications that are essential to the role will be checked by requesting the original certificate and checking that the details on the certificate match the details on their application form (e.g. name, course title, dates, grades etc).  We will also check basic security features and the presentation of the document where appropriate.  We will then contact the awarding body directly / UK NARIC to confirm the individuals’ attendance, course details and grade awarded.

 

Qualifications obtained overseas will be checked to confirm the qualification exists, that it is equivalent to the stated UK qualification, and that the individual is the holder of the qualification.  Again, these checks will be carried out directly with the awarding body / checked with UK NARIC.

 

Should the qualifications check produce a result which contradicts details provided by the applicant, we will proceed in a sensitive manner to check if there is a reasonable explanation for the apparent inconsistency and address any concerns directly with the applicant.  If the check reveals substantial misdirection, details should be reported to the Compliance Director who may then report it.

 

English Language Competency

We will ensure that all Healthcare Professionals have a proportionate level of English language proficiency.  Further details can be found in our Verification of English Language Competency Check Policy.

 

Compliance & Audit

We will meet the client, local authority or governing body’s professional registration and qualifications check requirements by using robust safeguarding and compliance procedures underpinned by our recruitment software.   This prevents mandatory parts of the process from being missed out or circumnavigated.  No worker can begin an assignment before all compliance actions are completed in line with the contracting authority’s / client’s specification, current policy, and legislation. All offers are conditional and dependant on candidates passing all compliance, registration, and qualification checks. Candidates are informed at the beginning of the process, that falsification of documentation or refusal to cooperate will mean that any offer of employment (or subsequent placement) will be terminated with immediate effect.

 

We conduct regular internal audits of all our compliance processes.  These are carried out by our Compliance Manager on a quarterly basis to demonstrate that we adhere to legislative, contractual and industry best practice. We also welcome client audits.