Safeguarding

Safeguarding Patients 27
Neale Inquiry recommendation 13: The police check should include convictions, cautions and
entries on the Sex Offenders Register.
3.13 Since February 2005 it has been mandatory for all NHS employers to arrange for checks at
the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) for all relevant NHS staff. The standard disclosure from the
CRB shows current and spent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police
National Computer.
Application to primary care practitioners
3.14 In primary medical care, responsibility for ensuring that new practitioners are suitable to
provide services is shared between the PCT, the individual doctor and the practice. Under these
arrangements
• there is a statutory requirement under the Performers List regulations (see para 2.8) for doctors
to provide a comprehensive career history, including an enhanced criminal record certificate, to
the PCT before they can perform primary medical care services;
• the practice has a contractual requirement to take up two clinical references relating to recent
posts before employing or engaging a health professional to perform medical services.
Similarly PCTs are required to undertaken CRB checks for dentists applying to join Performers
Lists, and we intend to apply comparable arrangements for providers of primary care ophthalmic
services when the provisions of the Health Act 2006 are brought into force.