One of the questions that is constantly asked by agency nurse and healthcare workers is can Nursing Personnel accept my agency nurse mandatory training certificates from another agency or another healthcare provider? This post hopefully will explain and answer all your questions about agency nurse’s mandatory training including online training and face to face training.

The first thing to understand is NHS Framework agencies have to comply with NHS Framework rules around mandatory training, and the agency will have to provide to evidence to NHS auditors that healthcare workers have the required training certificates on their compliance file.

All training must be in line with the Skills for Health Core Skills Training Framework. A full list of certified training companies are available here. Nursing Personnel recommend Train Healthcare as they are certified by Skills for Health as fully compliant with the Core Skills Training Framework.

Can Nursing Personnel Accept Agency Nurse Mandatory Training Certs From Another Agency or Training Provider?

In order for Nursing Personnel to accept agency nurse mandatory training from another training provider (eg. another agencies internal training) that is not listed on the Skills for Health website as above we have to hold on file a certified signed document from the training provider confirming their training is aligned to the Core Skills Training Framework. Many agencies or training providers will not sign or provide this certified document and as a result we cannot accept the training certificate, as the quality and content of the training is not certified as aligned to the Core Skills Training Framework. Oddly enough even some NHS Trusts do not have their training aligned. The document we need signed to confirm the training is aligned to the Core Skills Training Framework is available here. As you can see this is a very detailed document and many companies do not want to complete this.

Agency Nurse Face to Face Mandatory Training

Face to face agency nurse mandatory raining, including basic life support and manual handling must be carried out face to face and cannot be delivered online. This training must be carried out within the last 12 months and refresher course must be done annually. The training must be to a level 2 standard. Level 3 cannot be accepted as some of the training content in Level 2 is not covered in Level 3 and this is a requirement by the NHS agency Framework operators.

Agency Nurse On-Line Training

Some of the mandatory training subjects and topics can be completed on- line. Again we will need to have on file certificates listing the subjects covered as required by the framework agreements. Examples include:

• RIDROR
• COSHH
• Complaint Handling, Equality & Diversity, Awareness of Mental Health
• Dementia & Learning Disability
• Food Hygiene & Safety
• PSTS/Conflict Management
• Fire Safety
• Health & Safety
• Handling Information & Information Governance
• Infection Prevention and Control
• Lone Worker
• Safeguarding Children Levels 1 & 2
• Safeguarding Adults Level 1 & 2
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
• RIDDOR
• Documentation & Record Keeping
• Mews Score Training

Some tips for agency nurses before you complete or consider doing your annual mandatory training.

Use a training provider like Train Healthcare that is listed on the Skills for Health website as an approved training provider. The quality of the training will be guaranteed to meet the required standards. Full details of Train Healthcare are available here.

Always keep your original training certificates as agencies usually need to see the originals to avoid fake certificates being produced.

All NHS Framework agencies will have to verify that the agency nurse mandatory training was carried out and an independent certified training provider will certify this much quicker than an agency providing their own internal training. This will especially be the case if you want to move or change agencies. An agency obviously will not want to see their worker leaving and will be slow to verify their training for another competitor agency. By using an approved Skills for Health provider you will not encounter this conflict of interest.

Some agencies will also charge agency nurses for training certificates as they know the worker is potentially looking to leave.

Accepting and verifying agency nurse mandatory training can often be a contentious issue between agency workers and the compliance team working for the agency. Our advice and top tip is always use an approved training provider where the training content and certificates can easily be verified. This will take the stress and aggravation out of approving your annual mandatory training.

We hope this information is useful and highlights the importance of checking the credentials of your training provider.