Leading health and social care staff provider Pulse is building on to a year of £3m business expansion by launching a scientific division.

Pulse Scientific has offices in Oxford, but Pulse chief executive officer Richard MacMillan said more are planned across the UK over the next year. The division will supply temporary, contract and permanent workers and recruitment services. It will directly employ temporary workers, reducing the risks of implied employment liability for clients.

"It's an international market, and there's a migration of talent," MacMillan told Recruiter.

The launch of Pulse Scientific is a step toward realising a corporate ambition of creating more specialist niches within the broader health and social care spectrums, MacMillan said.

In 2006, Pulse has opened four new branches of its social care division, three new offices for its doctor staffing business and five for its nursing staffing operation. The company plans to beef up its portfolio with an acquisition in the social care sector, with details to be announced shortly. The purchase will contribute to what MacMillan said is "a fabulous balance" within its holdings in the health and social care.