We ask our employees to give us their best, and we're committed to doing the same. It's why we offer world-class benefits designed to empower you and your family to live life well.
Now you have received your conditional offer you will be required to complete your pre-employment checks. You will have received a link to make your face to face ID check appointment to complete the checks.
Within this page you will hopefully find all the information you need in order to make your start with us as smooth as possible.
There are 6 NHS employment checks standards. These ensure safe recruitment practice so that only those suitable to work at UHMBT are recruited, protecing our patients and staff.
Right to work
To comply with legislation we must obtain your right to work in the UK. If you are a UK citizen then we will be required to see your Passport or Full Birth Certificate and National Insurance (NI) number. If you are a non-UK or EEA citizen we require a passport and a valid visa/Biometric Residence Permit.
If you require a visa work permit we will comply with specific UKBA legislation in order to apply for a visa. Please visit the UKBA website for further information.
Please note: we will be required to view your original right to work documentation prior to your start date.
For more information please visit: NHS Employers - Right to work checks
Professional registration and qualification checks
We are required to ensure that all employees are qualified and competent to perform the duties for which they are employed. Professional registration and qualification checks provide assurances that you are recognised by an appropriate regulatory body (where relevant) and; meet the required standards of education, training, competence and conduct for your particular role.
Professional regulation is intended to protect the public, ensuring that those who practice in a healthcare profession, can do so safely. This standard is one of the six that form the NHS Employment Check Standards.
If your new position requires you to have professional registration we will check your registration with the required professional body. If you have not yet obtained full registration your offer will be subject to gaining full registration. Until this is obtained you might be paid at a lower banding. This will be detailed in your conditional offer letter.
For more information, please visit: NHS Employers - Professional registration and qualification checks
Verification of identity
In addition to your right to work ID we must obtain two confirmation of address documents. Both documents must have your most current address and be addressed to yourself.
Please note that certain confirmation of address documents must be dated within a specific time frame.
To comply with legislation, we must see the original documents to take copies. Each copy must be validated at your pre-employment checks appointment.
We recommend checking the ID Guidance list, which would have been attached to your interview invite email.
For further information, please visit: NHS Employers - Verification of identity
Employment History & Reference Checks
We must obtain three complete years of written references covering both education and employment history (if applicable), with any gaps in employment covered by 2 character referees.
Your employment references should come from the Human Resources (HR) Department concerned, or your previous line manager and must be professional email addresses. If you have not provided referee details for your employment history then please contact us with the details in order for us to obtain these references in a timely manner.
With regards to character referees, they must have known you for the past 3 years and be regarded as an upstanding member of the community. Please provide either an email address (preferable) or a postal address. For further information attached is a list of recognised character referees.
In our experience, references are returned to us in a timelier manner if candidates can ask their referees to complete the reference request at their earliest convenience.
For further information, please visit: NHS Employers - Employment History & Reference Checks
Work Health Assessment
As part of your offer you will have been issued an Occupational Health Questionnaire this needs to be completed and returned directly to Occupational Health. Please complete your Occupational Health checks as early as possible as you cannot commence in post until you have been cleared.
If you have any difficulty completing your checks or require support with accessing the Occupational Health portal please contact the team using the details below.
Telephone: 01524 512290
Email: occhealth.referrals@mbht.nhs.uk
For further information, please visit: NHS Employers - Work Health Assessment
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) – if required
If your position requires a DBS clearance we will email you an e-DBS application form to complete.
All of our DBS applications are processed online and we are unable to offer paper application forms. Please could you complete the e-DBS application form as quickly as possible for us to ID verify your application and send onto the Bureau.
Please note, DBS clearance can take up to 8 weeks for a Disclosure to be returned.
If you have applied to the DBS update service then please inform us of your details for us to check online. We will be required to see a copy of your latest DBS Disclosure as part of the check.
If you have a Disclosure on your DBS we will request to see your original DBS Disclosure prior to clearance.
For more information, please visit: NHS Employers - Criminal Record Checks
Visit our Freedom to Speak Up page.
Continuous Quality Improvement
Improving quality is about making health care safe, effective, patient-centred, timely, efficient and equitable.
Quality improvement involves the use of an approach to solve a problem, using helpful methods and tools to bring about measurable improvement. Understanding the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ before we test out the ‘how’.
UHMBT encourages and supports continuous quality improvement. UHMBT follows a 6 step Improvement framework that can be followed by anyone working in or with the trust.
How to find out more
We have a Hive Improvement Centre; an intranet site with information, tools, resources and support for all our staff to access freely.
We provide training. Information is shared on the Hive Improvement Centre and in the Trust's Training Management System (TMS) in the Improvement and Redesign category or just search for ‘Improvement’ when you’re ready to find out more.
We encourage all those who have quality improvement knowledge, skills and experience to share and support others and their improvement alongside an Improvement and Redesign Team
Ahead of joining the trust you can take a look at Our Improvement approach and read our Continuous Quality Improvement Strategy.
Fresh Eyes – Observe and Question
There are quality improvement tools to encourage looking at a situation with fresh eyes/from a new perspective. As a new starter you will have a fresh objective view on the workings of our trust and can help to identify how we can improve care. Observing those around you will help you understand your new role but please share your fresh take with others; you may help to identify improvements.
Questioning is great for learning new roles or new ways of workings, but it is also good to question why we have done what we have always done. Don’t be afraid of asking why, to dig a little deeper. Those you ask, might not have all the answers but you could find out together; there may be a better way of doing things that improve patient and staff experience.
If you don’t feel comfortable to share what you observe and question in your early days with your new team, make a note and share it at a later date or get in touch with the Improvement and Redesign Team and we’ll help your insights to be shared.
UHMBT continues to work towards becoming a truly inclusive employer and service provider; creating an environment and culture that celebrates inclusion and diversity, dignity and respect, which values, nurtures, and harnesses difference for the benefit of patients, service users, their families, carers, our citizens and our employees.
We are aware of the need to continue to improve and to ensure a consistently good experience across the Trust. Our ambition as an employer and a health care service provider is to be inclusive by default which means that everything we do, such as when we design services or review and develop policies, we do this with a co-design mindset, to ensure that it works for everybody on an equitable basis. For this to happen we must all strive to make a positive difference in our daily actions. Only by working together, listening to each other, and continuing to learn together, will we do just that!
Adequate adjustments to support you at work
If you have particular needs, such as a disability, long-term health condition, caring responsibilities, or other consideration which is causing you concern we want to ensure that you are given all the support you need to be able to focus on your new job and settle into the Trust. There are a number of policies, support networks and tools which may help you.
Access to work
This is a Government scheme to support people with disabilities or long-term health conditions to enter work or stay in work. Funding is available to support you, but the Trust cannot apply on your behalf. You can apply as soon as you know what your start date will be, and the sooner you apply the better! Get more information about Access to Work.
Health Passport
This is a document you can work through with your manager to set out what works for you in the work environment and what hinders you, how you currently deal with your disability or health condition and what else you might find helpful. It’s a useful tool to help you and your manager work out how to provide the best working environment to meet your needs.
Flexible Working
The Trust is committed to considering requests for Flexible Working arrangements from day one of your employment. Whilst there is a legal right to request flexible working after 26 weeks service, here at UHMBT, any member of staff can request flexible working and we will do our best to support it. This is done via the Work and Home Life Policy.
Registering that you have a disability on our systems
If you’ve flagged up that you have a disability (or long-term health condition) at the recruitment stage, this will probably transfer across onto your staff record. It is worth checking that this is correctly recorded, and you can update it yourself by logging in to ESR (the Electronic Staff Records system) and updating your profile. This means that more forms of support will be open to you should you need them (for example Disability Leave which is available to support any staff member who has a disability). You will be given instructions on how to access ESR using your Smart Card, but if you have any trouble with this you can contact Ask SAMI for help.
Respect Champions
Respect champions are a point of contact for colleagues who feel they require support for concerns relating to Respect at Work or the Behavioural Standard Framework. Respect Champions can meet with colleagues to discuss concerns confidentially, they are a listening ear who can advise, support & signpost colleagues t the relevant support if required.
Contact details: Respect.Champions@mbht.nhs.uk
Visit the Learning and development page.
The Library and Knowledge Service aims to support all staff and students to deliver high quality patient care by providing support and resources to ensure that services are safe, effective and quality driven.
There are physical library spaces at Furness General Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary, which can be accessed 24/7. We have open access computers and comfortable spaces for relaxation and well-being. Alongside our clinical book collection, we also have an extensive collection of books covering other areas such as well-being and leadership. If you are based at another site, we can offer outreach support including specialty “pop-up libraries” and bulletins.
We offer a literature searching service to find the latest evidence to support you with writing trust policies and guidelines, conducting research, keeping up to date, patient information and direct patient care. Click here to request a literature search. We also offer training sessions on literature searching, critical appraisal and how to support health literacy.
Access the UHMBT library website to find out more including:
- The Knowledge and Library Hub where you can search our journal collection
- The library book catalogue where you can search for physical and e-books
- Forms to register for the library, request an item or set up your OpenAthens account (your password to our electronic resources)
- Electronic resources including BMJ Best Practice, Internurse journal collection, Oxford Medicine online books and Royal Marsden online manual
- Access to the Morecambe Bay Medical Journal
If you have any questions, please contact us at library@mbht.nhs.uk and we will be happy to help.
The Union Staff-Side (USS) is a committee of joint Trade Unions and professional bodies who are committed to effective partnership working at UHMBT. Shared vision and values will help to create a great place to be cared for and a great place to work.
The USS are dedicated to achieving the best for all their members from across the Trust and offer valuable services such as representation, negotiating with the Trust, representing colleagues voices in the shaping of policies - and most importantly - they serve as a pillar of support should you need help in dealing with any issues.
Your Staff-Side Officers
Ben Maden
Chair of Union Staff-Side
Email: ben.maden@mbht.nhs.uk
Sue Mellor – Society of Radiographers
Vice-Chair of Union Staff-Side
Email: susan.mellor@mbht.nhs.uk
Karen Thompson – Royal College of Nursing
Secretary of Union Staff-Side
Tel: 07929 838690
Email: karen.thompson@mbht.nhs.uk
You can also find us on Twitter @uhmbstaffside
Please find below links to all of the active Trade Unions within UHMBT to help you find the one that is best for you.
- British Dietetic Association
- British Medical Association
- GMB
- Royal College of Nursing
- Royal College of Occupational Therapists
- Society of Radiographers
- The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
- The Royal College of Midwives
- Unison
- Unite the Union
For general enquiries or for help joining a Trade Union you can email the Trade Union Inbox.