Safeguarding Toolkit for Adult Care Providers Standard 8

The role of the DBS check is to help employers in England and Wales make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children.

All staff working within a care home are required to have a DBS check.  Your service will state what level of checks should be completed.

DBS checks help to keep those who are known to pose a risk to people who use CQC registered services out of the workforce. Various inquiries into deaths and injuries of children and people using health or social care services have shown the importance of good recruitment practice. For example, the Bichard inquiry stressed how important recruitment checks are in keeping people safe.

DBS checks do not have an official expiry date. However, it is recommended that they are updated every three years.

Providers need to consider how to satisfy themselves that their recruitment process is sufficiently robust in line with CQC requirements and includes references and full employment history.

The DBS also has duties and powers to share information with professional bodies such as CQC, the General Medical Council and other organisations.  A barred list check will show if a person is barred, that is, prevented, from working in a regulated activity either with children, adults, or both. To knowingly employ a person who is barred by the DBS to perform a regulated activity is a criminal offence.

The following can disqualify a person from being a care giver:

• sexual assault
• robbery
• abuse and other violent crimes are non-exempt; applicants who have been convicted of them cannot become caregivers
• driving records may also be checked for repeated offenses, careless driving or anything that could indicate an applicant is not a safe driver.

Types of DBS check

There are four types of DBS check. Each one produces a certificate, which is issued to the individual. Employers should ask to see the certificate to ensure they are recruiting the right person for their service.

The four levels of DBS check are:

• Basic DBS check
• Standard DBS check
• Enhanced DBS check
• Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check

The information contained on each type of check is different. Staff working in care homes should either have an enhanced check or an enhanced with barred check.

An enhanced DBS check has all the information contained in a standard DBS check. However, with an enhanced check, an employer can also request to see whether a potential or current employee is listed on the Children's Barred List or Adult First List.

Basic DBS checks

This can be for any purpose, including employment. The certificate issued will supply information on convictions and conditional cautions that considered to be unspent under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. Both the individual and employer can apply directly online to the DBS.

Standard DBS check

A Standard DBS check is suitable for certain roles, such as a care home staff. The certificate will contain more detailed information such as both spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings that are held on the Police National Computer, which are not subject to filtering. The certificate may also contain non-conviction information supplied by relevant police forces if it is deemed relevant.

An individual cannot apply for a standard check by themselves, the recruiting organisation must apply.

The DBS check service is free for any volunteer.

Enhanced with Barred List DBS check

This is suitable for people working with children and adults who work with those receiving healthcare or personal care. This certificate will contain the same information as an Enhanced DBS certificate, an employer can also request to see whether a potential or current employee is listed on the Children's Barred List or Adult First list.

An enhanced DBS check has all the information contained in a standard DBS check.

DBS update service

The DBS update service is an online subscription, for Standard, Enhanced and Enhanced with Barred Lists DBS checks, that allows applicants to keep their DBS certificates up-to-date and live.  It also allows employers to view an applicant’s certificate online with their consent.

The service cannot currently be used for Basic DBS checks, but these are not recommended for care home staff.

The subscription should be renewed annually and can be renewed automatically up to 30 days before expiry.

If you are applying to be a registered partner, registered manager or individual provider you must get a DBS check before you submit your application. The DBS checks form part of the information that must be supplied with the application. The CQC will consider any criminal convictions or other disclosures in your DBS check which could have a bearing on your suitability and good character.

Any DBS supporting an application must be no more than 12 months old.

Registered managers must have an enhanced DBS check with appropriate barred list information to support your application.

Further information

• Safeguarding children, young people, and adults at risk in the NHS
• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (regulated activities) Regulation 2014

Follow up DBS checks

There is no requirement for a service that directly employs its own staff to repeat DBS checks within a set period. For example, there is no blanket rule such as re-checking all employees every three years. However, employers can recheck their staff whenever they think it is necessary. Any additional checks should be proportionate to risk.

See section 25 in CQC guidance.

DBS check portability

The portability section of the DBS page on the gov.uk website describes some of the risks and limitations of portability.

See section 30 in CQC guidance.

A DBS check has no official expiry date. Any information included will be accurate at the time the check was carried out. Employers must decide if and when a new check is needed. You should be able to provide evidence you have considered where new checks are needed.

Further guidance:

CQC: DBS checks

DBS service: checks for adult social care roles

New hiring toolkit supports care providers with safer recruitment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Staff are encouraged to discuss the culture, learning and management in relation to safeguarding (e.g. in exit interviews) when leaving employment with the care provider.

Making a barring referral

You have a legal duty to refer the person to the DBS if you dismiss or remove a person from regulated activity (or may have done so had they not left) because they have harmed or posed a risk of harm to a child or an adult at risk with care and support needs.

Any disciplinary hearing needs to be completed even if the person chooses to leave the service and depending on the outcome a DBS barring referral should be made.

If you have nurses employed within your service and they are dismissed because of their conduct, you will need to consider a referral to the NMC. This will also apply if a registered practicing nurse is employed in a different position in your service and is a practicing nurse elsewhere.

The NMC website has further information.

If you wish to raise a concern with them directly, please use contact them via:

• Email: whistleblowing@nmc-uk.org 
• Phone: 020 7637 7181

If you are a registered nurse and you are investigated, the NMC have practical guides outlining the process.

The three thresholds that would lead to a DBS referral are:

1. Harm a vulnerable adult
2. Cause a vulnerable adult to be harmed
3. Put a vulnerable adult at risk of harm