Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is Managed Home Care/Nursing?

A. Managed Homecare (or ‘Nursing’ when provided by Registered Nurses) is the care of people in their own homes by professional staff for significant parts of the day or week; the ‘support package’ may be commissioned privately or by a local authority or NHS body but it is largely managed by anagency such as PNL Nursing. Our management team, including the Registered Manager, Clinical Nurse Manager, Assessor and a named Bookings Consultant, creates a care plan, usually in conjunction with the service user’s GP and local authority/NHS trust, and maintains a team of suitably trained and qualified Nurses or Care Assistants to provide client-centred care and family support. Such one-to-one care has proven qualitative benefits for the recipient and can lead to significant cost savings for the commissioning authority. For more information click here or contact us.

Q. What do you specialise in?

A. Care of children and adults at home and staffing solutions for other organisations. We are particularly noted for children’s healthcare. On our books we have qualified neonatal, paediatric and adult ICU Nurses; staff registered for work in learning disabilities and mental health environments; Nurses to help with BiPAPS, tracheostomies, syringe drivers, Hickman lines, IVs, PEG feeds, etc.; and staff trained to care for with people with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and other chronic conditions, including palliative patients, plus general Staff Nurses. Health Care Assistants can provide you with support up to the level of their training and in accordance with the GSCC Code of Practice.

Q. Which areas do you cover?

A. PNL Nurses and Carers live all over London and the home counties. Our parent  company The Complete Group serves all of Great Britain. Staff are ready to report for duty at short notice.

Q. Can you supply staff for just a day or two for respite purposes?

A. Yes but the care package would face similar set-up costs to longer bookings and a reasonable minimum charge will apply to very short-term arrangements.

Q. Can you supply nurses/carers for a couple of hours a day?

A. PNL specialises in managed care packages typically consisting of shifts of 10-12 hours a day. It is unlikely we could find staff for shorter periods. If a managed care package service user needs an additional carer at certain times of the day, e.g. for safe moving and handling practices, we can work with clients to hire a support worker from a local domiciliary care agency.

Q. Can we cancel/postpone a private homecare package or interrupt service for a while?

A. We understand that delays to hospital discharge, for example, can disrupt any ‘best laid plans’ so delaying the start of service, and similarly, that breaks in provision may be needed during hospital admission or respite. In these instances, to avoid the break-up of an established rota, it may be possible for your team to be put on standby (please ask for details). Where notice is provided very late there may be a fee – please see our Service User Guide or ask us for more information.

Q. How do we cancel an arranged visit/shift?

A. You can cancel a single visit up to 24 hours before it is due to start with no cancellation fee. After this time we will charge the full rate for the shift and pay the nurse/carer her wages if she is unable to obtain alternative work. NHS and local authority clients may have different arrangements. You can contact our office or out-of-hours on-call service at any time.

Q. What happens if the nurse/carer cannot work the agreed hours or has to leave with little notice?

A. We go to great lengths to ensure uninterrupted care but due to the nature of staffing services no agency will guarantee 100% attendance. In the unlikely event our staff member is running late or unable to work we will let you know immediately. Usually we will have time to assign someone else and there will be no interruption. Alternatively, we will work with family members, the commissioning body or your preferred alternative agency to ensure there is cover. Privately funded clients can choose to pay for a nurse on retainer so that a substitute will arrive within, say, 3 or 6 hours.

Q. Can costs be spread between two fund holders?

A. Yes, if the cost of the service is to be met by, e.g., the PCT and the local authority, or the local authority and the Service User, we can produce two invoices. The various parties must let us know which scheduled shifts and any extra ad hoc hours will be paid by whom. Where responsibilities are shared we should ideally have one point of contact in regard to clinical matters, timesheets and local care management.

Q. Will an assessor visit us before service begins?

A. Our Clinical Nurse Manager will work closely with the service user and their family, GP and other local health/care professionals to develop a support plan that meets the individual’s particular needs and circumstances. Consistency of care is vital – where we have any reason to believe that we will not be able to provide an appropriate, reliable service we will not accept the assignment. We may use and adapt a pre-existing social services/NHS care plan or develop our own from scratch – whichever is best for the service user. Our assessor will normally visit before service begins to meet you and ascertain all the facts we needs to create a plan of care and assess any risks, and at least annually thereafter for a formal review. If you would like to meet the Manager beforehand to discuss our terms this can be arranged with pleasure: contact us.

Q. Is your agency able to provide to NHS trusts?

A. Yes, PNL Nursing is licensed to supply all UK NHS trusts under formal framework agreements. NHS appointed auditors visit us annually to carry out a thorough audit of our systems and records.

Q. How does PNL guarantee the quality of its staff?

A. PNL Nursing has a department devoted to compliance and staff quality control, as well as a hands-on Registered Manager and Clinical Nurse Manager. All new recruits are pre-screened by a senior nurse before a face-to-face meeting. If successful at interview, the candidate goes through many more tests and attends thorough training course before being placed into positions of trust, including:

• Full Induction to PNL and its policies & procedures
• Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure*
• Independent Safeguarding Authority Checks*
• Occupational Health Screening*
• Two Workplace References*
• Test of Written & Verbal English
• Scrutiny of Previous and On-going Employment History*
• Safe Manual Handing* and biannual Basic Life Support Training
• 10 Further Mandatory Training Courses*
• Additional Work-Specific Training*
• Check of Eligibility to Work in UK*
• Check of Registration with NMC/Professional Body*
• On-going Monitoring and Supervision; Yearly Appraisal

* Repeated annually. For the full list please contact the manager.

Q. How does PNL select staff for a placement?

A. Staff are carefully selected for each booking by matching the needs and preferences of the client/service user with the skills, qualifications and experience of all available staff members, as well as practical considerations such as the client’s location. Where care in on-going, PNL will develop a rota of staff for each client to promote consistency of care and the reassurance of seeing the same friendly faces.

Q. What do I do if I have a complaint?

A. If you have any comments, suggestions or cause for complaint please speak to our Registered Manager without delay on (020) 7427 2666 or write to the manager. Grievances are dealt with quickly and in accordance with our Complaints Policy, which is set out in our “Client’s Guide” – further copies available on request.

If you want to take your complaint further you can contact the United Kingdom Home Care Association or the Care Quality Commission.

Q. How do I book staff?

A. Simply contact the PNL bookings team on 020 7427 2665.

Q. Can you provide ‘sleep-in’ or ‘live-in’ staff?

A. These can be arranged where the support plan and risk assessment have determined that help may occasionally be needed at night but that it is not necessary for the nurse or care assistant to stay awake overnight. Staff must have a suitable private bedroom next to the service user’s room or be reachable via an intercom link; it would not be appropriate for staff to sleep on a camp bed or sofa. Please ask for details of our special terms.