Lone working in the NHS as a Band 5

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Quick question, should band 5 Pod's in the NHS be supervised whilst working or is it alright for them to work alone in clinics?

 

Hi Paul

It seems you are assuming that a Band 5 pod is what used to be termed "basic grade". The historical basic grade post would normally have had supervision for 6 months to a year before usually upgrading to a Senior II post. These days, I think the story is a little different depending on the area of the country you work. Some Band 5 Pods have been working for many years alone at Senior II level and the banding system under Agenda for Change has decided their job description does not warrant a Band 6. This does not mean that they must now be supervised as they would be perfectly capable of treating independently. However, I suspect you may be referring to newly qualified staff, where it may well be appropriate to provide some supervision. I think the definition of supervision in the NHS can vary from Trust to Trust. Some will feel this means working in a 2 or more chair clinic and having more experienced staff in the building. Others will interpret this as being on the end of a phone or meeting on a regular basis to discuss patients etc. I don't think there is any particular rules regarding this, mainly because of the inconsistancy regarding bandings nationally. I guess it would depend quite heavily on the indiviual circumstances. What do others think?

 

Thank you Ella, that helps a lot. I was referring to newly qualified rather than staff members who have been working for years and not been "upgraded" under Agenda for change. I will have a look and see if I can find our trusts particular interpretation of this.