Registration Information
Direct Medics has built its reputation as a leading contracted and approved agency in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, by offering high quality services to both doctors and clients. This has been achieved through rigorous vetting procedures which offer peace of mind to our clients and in return offers continuation of job opportunities to our doctors. By completing registration with Direct Medics you can be confident that we will meet your requirements. Our dedicated administration team is available to support you throughout the registration process if required.
To complete your registration with Direct Medics Ltd please find below information on the list of documents that is required from you. However, please note that THE most important document to submit is your CV with details of your current and most recent referees. This will enable each recruitment team to target vacancies that specifically match your experience, and therefore speed up the process of securing your ideal job! Thus we need :
1) A DIRECT MEDICS APPLICATION FORM, completed & signed including a
2) signed Rehabilitation of Offenders/Fitness to Practice section.
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, applicants for locum medical posts are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which for other purposes are 'spent'.
Doctors are expected to provide Direct Medics with a statement of any criminal convictions, police investigations or cautions and written permission to disclose this information to clients.
Professional Misconduct
We need to know if you are currently subject to any Fitness to Practice proceedings by an appropriate licensing or regulatory body in the UK or any other country.
We will require details of the nature of the proceedings undertaken, or contemplated, including approximate date of proceedings, country where proceedings were undertaken and the name and address of the licensing or regulatory body concerned. We also need written permission to disclose this information to clients.
3) Curriculum Vitae
We need a CV that details, as a minimum, the following information which must be up to date when presented to the Trust:-
• Full name as in the Medical or Dental Register (as appropriate);
• Date of birth;
• Full details of qualifications and membership of professional bodies;
• Registration number, type of registration, eligibility for registration and date of entry to the Specialist Register for each country in which you are registered or eligible for registration to work
• If applicable, Home Office/Immigration status and details of entitlement to work for each country in which you wish to work
• Full details of employment history and experience to date. Your CV must include the start and finish dates of each post you have undertaken. Hospitals assume your CV is complete unless you inform them. If there are any gaps in your CV, you should include all details of what you did during that time. Direct Medics must be notified immediately of any amendments. These will be included in your file for submission to hospitals. The layout of your CV may be reworked by your Recruitment Consultant to maximise your chances of securing positions
• If you are a Specialist Registrar please provide gradings of any Record of In-Training Assessments (RITAs) obtained in the past five years
• Details of a minimum of two referees, one for your current and one for your most recent substantive or long term locum post. You must provide a minimum of one referee for each specialty in which you wish to work. You should provide the following information for each referee: name, title & specialisation, telephone, facsimile and email.
4) A minimum of two Current References
a) We will request new references every 6 months to ensure we hold a copy from your most recent substantive post on file, at least one of which must be your current post. We will also request reports/references on locums in line with the Code of Practice. If you wish to work at Consultant grade we will require a supporting letter from your Clinical or Medical Director.
b) If you are a Specialist Registrar please provide gradings of any Record of In-Training Assessments (RITAs) obtained in the past five years
5) Copies of Higher Qualification Certificates and ATLS / PALS / ALS certificates.
a) All doctors should have ACLS course and should be verified by agency.
b) Doctors required for A&E at Registrar level and above should have ATLS
6) Copies of all postgraduate qualifications such as MRCPI/FRCSI etc.
7) A copy of your Mandatory Training Certificate.
NHS and HSE hospitals require doctors to provide a copy of their Mandatory Training Certificate. Direct Medics in conjunction with Osmosis Training Ltd, a PASA approved e-training organisation, provides to all doctors the PASA required training and induction programmes. If you do not hold a copy of the annual certificates listed below, please visit our TRAINING FOR DOCTORS section of our website to update your training today.
Lone Worker Training
Health & Safety
Caldicott Protocols
COSHH
RIDDOR
Infection Control
Handling Violence and Aggression
Fire Safety
Child Protection Training
8)Two passport photographs for your Direct Medics identification badge
9) Copy of GMC / IMC / AMB or NZMC Certificate
10) Letter of Entry onto the Specialist Register(s) (if applicable)
11)Evidence of Eligibility to Work in the UK / Ireland / Australia / NZ
12) Evidence of knowledge of English (IELTS or other) (if applicable) to work in UK / Ireland / Australia / NZ
13) Police checks
Criminal Records Bureau Disclosures
All public and private organisations request that an Enhanced Disclosure be obtained for all healthcare personnel which is acquired from the Criminal Records Bureau, Disclosure Scotland or Access NI
Direct Medics can assist you at all stages of the Disclosure process. You are required to inform Direct Medics if you have been subject to a prosecution by the police after the CRB check was undertaken.
Garda Clearance
The Health Service Executive (HSE) require all temporary healthcare professionals placed through recruitment agencies to complete a Garda Vetting process.
This vetting procedure is in the interest of public safety and only information regarding your ability to perform your duty as a healthcare professional will be scrutinised. Traffic offences and other minor convictions will not in any way affect your potential to receive job offers.
You can download a Vetting Application form from the DOWNLOAD section, which you must complete, sign and return to Direct Medics, along with a cheque or postal order for €12.50 made payment to the National Recruitment Federation. Direct Medics will submit your signed document and fee for vetting to the NRF, which is currently taking around six weeks to process.
Australian National Police Check
As part of the visa application process, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) requires a statement from the police authority, of each country that an overseas trained doctor has lived in for more than 12 months over the past 10 years.
If the doctor is already in Australia and either has not had a police or penal check before or, it is over 12 months since their last Australian visa was obtained, they will also have to obtain a clearance from the Australian police in the State or Territory where they are living.
New Zealand Criminal Record
If you want a "police clearance certificate" you should ask for your own Criminal Record from the Ministry of Justice. Your own Criminal Record is like a "clearance certificate" that other countries have. New Zealand Police does not give "clearance certificates", but the Ministry of Justice does give Criminal Records. Please contact Direct Medics for information on how to request a copy of your own criminal record.
14) A completed and signed Health Declaration Form which can be obtained from our DOWNLOAD section
Upon submitting a completed Health Questionnaire and copies of the following immunisation and serology documentation, you will receive a Fitness to Practice Certificate. You may submit this certificate along with your serology reports, if you have one.
Immunisation evidence
The Department of Health insists on protecting doctors and patients from acquiring and/or infecting others with Hepatitis B. Hospitals insist on locum doctors providing evidence of their UK Hepatitis B status which must be an identified validated sample, and require a photocopy of an original UK pathology report including your;
• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• Date of Test
• Specific surface antibody levels and surface antigen status.
• A Hepatitis B surface antibody level of over 100 iu/l from a test carried out in the UK within the last 5 years will be accepted. Non responders to the vaccine will need to show evidence of a negative surface antigen to prove non-infectivity to the virus.
Your GP or Occupational Health Department will be able to assist you in obtaining the above samples. In the absence of these, Direct Medics can help arrange a blood test to comply with these requirements which will provide a result within 24 hours. For all doctors undertaking Exposure Prone Procedures a 5-yearly surface antigen testing is required in addition to antibody results.
Hand-written evidence will not be accepted. Under the new DOH guidelines, individuals who are surface antigen positive and HbeAg negative and are performing exposure prone procedures, must also provide evidence of Hepatitis B virus DNA test showing the current viral load, as there is now evidence that some of these individuals are capable of transmitting infection to patients. Your GP or Occupational Health Department will also be able to assist you in obtaining these samples.
Hepatitis C
The Department of Health now requires all doctors performing Exposure Prone Procedures to provide written evidence of a negative Hepatitis C result which must be an identified validated sample.
Tuberculosis
Hospitals are now insisting on seeing documented evidence from an Occupational Health Department or GP practice, showing immunity to Tuberculosis. Written evidence of a visible and palpable BCG scar and/or a positive Heaf/Mantoux test will be accepted as proof of immunity to Tuberculosis. We require an Occupational Health/GP Certificate of a positive scar or a record of a positive skin test result and notification if you have worked in a TB prevalent area in the last 5 years.
Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella
Evidence of immunity to Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella, preferably on a pathology report, is required. Most hospitals will accept an official Occupational Health Department immunisation record showing immunity.
Diptheria, Tetanus and Polio
Evidence of immunity to Diptheria, Tetanus and Polio, preferably on a pathology report, is required. Most hospitals will accept an official Occupational Health Department immunisation record showing immunity.
15) Professional Indemnity Insurance
If you are working as a General Practitioner or in an Independent /Private Hospital in the UK or Ireland, it is a requirement that you have the necessary professional indemnity cover. It is not essential if you are working in an NHS or HSE Hospital although we recommend that you obtain cover.
If you are working as a Doctor in the Australian Medicare system, it is a requirement to obtain medical indemnity cover. The type of cover you will need will depend on the type of job being offered, ie Area of Need, District of Workforce Shortage, etc.
A no fault compensation scheme administered by the Accident Compensation Corporation operates in NZ which means that you are unlikely to be "sued" as such. It is advisable to obtain medical indemnity cover (which is very cheap in New Zealand compared to most other countries in the world).
16) Copy of a valid Ionising Radiation Certificate
Radiology Consultants, Associate Specialists and Specialist Registrars will need to submit a copy of their Ionising Radiation Certificate, as will doctors at Consultant level who have indicated a desire to carry out radiological procedures
17) Section 12 Approval under the Mental Health Act
All medical practitioners, including GP principals/salaried, with special experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder are eligible to apply for registration as “Section 12(2)” doctors.
Applicants must meet the following criteria before approval/re-approval:-
1. Satisfy the GMC Standards of Fitness to Practice
2. Have attended a Section 12(2) induction/refresher training course of equivalent standard to that organised by the South West panel within one year prior to making the application.
3. Have an up-to-date PDP/GP appraisal record/be Registered for CPD.
4. Supply the names of two Section 12(2) approved Consultant who have been in their current substantive or Locum post for at least six months and who are prepared to act as referees.
5. Satisfy at least one of the following sets of additional criteria:
Criteria A
• Be a member or fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, or the Royal College of General Practitioners and
• Have three years equivalent whole time experience in a substantive, salaried or principal post where there was substantial experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder. Such experience may have been recognised by the award of a higher degree or diploma relevant to mental health work. At least six months of such experience must have been in an approved supervised psychiatric training post and accredited training department; or satisfy the criteria for GPwSI in mental health
Criteria B
• Have four years whole time equivalent experience in a substantive salaried or principal post where there was substantial experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder. Such experience may have been recognised by the award of a higher degree or diploma relevant to mental health work. At least six months of such experience must be in an approved psychiatric supervised psychiatric training post and accredited training department or satisfy the criteria for GPwSI and
• Attend four Mental Health Act assessments supervised by a Section 12(2) approved Consultant Psychiatrist and acheive satisfactory reports.
Criteria C
• Either – be included on the Specialist Register of the GMC as a Specialist in Psychiatry (or equivalent speciality) or
- hold a GMC licence to practice as a Consultant Psychiatrist or
- hold a substantive post in the National Health Service as a Consultant Psychiatrist under the NHS International Fellowship Programme and
• Attend four Mental Health Act assessments supervised by a Section 12 Consultant Psychiatrist and achieve satisfactory reports.
Criteria D
Section 12(2) practitioners seeking re-approval
• Must complete an application form applying for re-approval
• Must provide evidence of attendance at a recognised training course within the current period of approval
• References will routinely be taken and must be satisfactory
• Must provide written confirmation of one or more of the following.
o Confirmation of active involvement as a medical member of a Mental Health Review Tribunal.
o Confirmation of furnishing reports for Courts
o Undertaking at least two Mental Health Act assessments within the previous calendar year.
o Confirmation that, in the course of ordinary clinical duties, they have considered the use of the Mental Health Act in discussion with patients, their relatives or fellow professionals.
o Confirmation of having managed a caseload as a Responsible Consultant where patients, including those in aftercare will at some point in their care pathway, have been made subject to formal detention.