May 2007

Montagu Nurses Continue to Support the NHS During Times of Great Change

An old Spanish curse, loosely translated, reads “May you live in interesting times.” No-one who has been involved in the supply of temporary nursing staff to the NHS over the past few years would characterise this period as anything else.

There have been radical changes to every aspect of the industry. The complexity of certification procedures has exploded, organisational and personnel requirements are changed by a bewildering variety of governmental and non-governmental bodies at an astonishing rate. Confusion abounds throughout the process, to the extent that on occasion not even the bodies  running the process seem sure how  best to proceed.

Montagu stands amongst this confusion as a beacon of light across a storm-tossed sea. Solidly rooted with almost eighty years of experience, we have successfully navigated our way through a time which has seen far larger agencies dashed to pieces among the reefs and shoals of precipitous change.

 Throughout this long process, the aim of which has been the standardisation and improvement of quality of supply and clinical governance, alongside a sustainable financial commitment, Montagu has consistently kept abreast of the changes, moving forward to meet the challenges and embrace the opportunities offered by the new climate. We are one of only fifty-one agencies who were selected for the latest round of the Framework Agreement, out of the many thousands of agencies, large and small, who began the process a number of years ago.

All but a select handful of these fifty-one agencies failed their first NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) audit under the new Framework. Some of these agencies have now failed for a second time and been removed from the Framework, cutting even further the small number of agencies still contracted to supply the NHS.

 Montagu was one of the select few who passed the audit first time, thus securing our position as one of the most prestigious agencies in the UK.

The future has never been brighter, with Montagu’s projects in the East and West Midlands held up by NHS PASA as examples of how the framework can be successfully implemented to the benefit of all.

Therefore, if you are looking for a safe harbour in these troubled times, Montagu Nurses should be your first choice.