DBS checks at care homes help organisations make safe recruitment decisions. These checks are important for the staff members that are responsible for working under some regulated activities.
As per a
report presented in the year 2017 by the Care Quality Commission, one
out of four homes in the UK is susceptible to unsafe conditions due
to improper safety during the hiring process. The studies reveal that
almost every third care home centre in the UK needs to undergo
specific DBS checks to
maintain the desired level of services.
Safety is
the prime requirement of these care centres, and it must be
maintained at all levels. Hence, it is important to think about what
kind of DBS checks may be required for care home employees and what
are their eligibility conditions.
CQC
Requirements for Care Homes:
CQC is
responsible for maintaining adult social care services, and ensures
that care homes meet the criteria for safety and quality. They set a
wide range of regulations to maintain required standards at care
homes; some of the most common regulations include:
- All the
patients at care home centres must receive safe treatment without
any risk of harm.
- The
care centers need to employee-only eligible people to execute the
treatments. They must undergo specific recruitment procedures along
with an Enhanced DBS Check to ensure they are safe to work
within the care home.
Why
DBS Checks are important for care homes?
DBS checks
help to prevent threats to people using services at care homes. All
the social care service providers working under CQC need to schedule
DBS checks for their staff and other eligible volunteers.
The decision
about the type of DBS check requirements
can be taken depending upon the role and responsibilities assigned to
each person.
Level
of check required for care home staff:
Staff
members at care home centers will require an Enhanced DBS Check.
They help to get details about any kind of final warnings,
reprimands, cautions, and convictions made by the applicants. It also
provides required details from the local police departments.
The staff
members that are involved in regulated activities need to undergo
barred list checks as well. This list highlights details about the
type of people that are not eligible for providing services to
vulnerable adults.
Note that
vulnerable adults are adults above the age group of 18 years.
The staff
members or volunteers at care home will be considered involved in
some regulated activity if:
- They
have regulated healthcare service providers to adults or are
involved in supervising their health conditions.
- They
provide any personal care assistance to the adults, such as hands-on
physical assistance for eating, dressing, washing, toileting,
drinking, etc.
- They
are involved in a certain kind of social work associated with adults
that is directly related to social services or health services.
- They
assist adults with billing, cash handling, and other personal
affairs as per formal appointments.
- The
convey adults at a certain level of disability.