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NEWS RELEASE FROM THE
REGISTERED NURSING HOME ASSOCIATION
Issued 9th September 2003
UNPRECEDENTED ACTION TAKEN
BY CARE HOME BODIES
Care home bodies have taken unprecedented joint action to plead with the Government for an urgent re-think on security clearance for care homes staff.
Eight care associations, which between them represent more than 60% of the country’s care home capacity, are together pressing for new guidelines on when care homes employees can start work.
Ministers and MPs arriving back at Westminster will be greeted by a 20-page dossier on the implications of a decision by the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) to withdraw the guidance they published in June 2002.
That guidance introduced flexibilities which by-passed legal requirements and allowed new workers to be employed while the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check was being carried out. Once the guidance is withdrawn on 1st October 2003, no new employee will be able to work in a care home until their CRB check has been completed.
Frank Ursell, chief executive officer of the Registered Nursing Home Association, said: “The CRB claims that 90% of all enhanced checks are completed within four weeks, but care home operators all over the country know that from start to finish the recruitment process takes a minimum of 50 days – and sometimes longer – in order that a new employee can start work with the appropriate security clearance.
“When an employee leaves, often without notice, the care home owner will be unable to fill the vacancy until the CRB application process has been successfully completed. But, at the same time, they have a legal duty to keep staffing numbers at an approved level.
“As a result, our members are caught between two evils. They will be operating outside the law if they employ staff without a CRB check; and they are equally in breach of care laws if they fail to staff their care home adequately.”
Mr Ursell said that both the Government and the National Care Standards Commission were failing to recognise the recruitment process that has to be gone through before the check can be commenced.
He added: “We would argue that the criminal record check is just one part of a robust recruitment process, and should be treated as such, rather than as the most important part.
"We are committed to ensuring that all possible steps are taken to maintain security for vulnerable service users, and we have proposed further measures to reinforce the framework of safeguards, so that workers can be taken on while the CRB check is being processed.”
The care associations are calling on the Government to instruct the National Care Standards Commission to revert to the interim guidance while an urgent review of the regulatory requirements is undertaken.
END
Note to News Editors:
The report has been jointly produced by the National Care Homes Association, the Registered Nursing Home Association, the Independent Healthcare Association, Devon Care Trust, Gloucestershire Care Homes Association, Hampshire Care Association, Lunesdale Association of Care Providers, North East Lancashire Care Homes Association, and the Federation of Small Businesses.
Further information:
Journalists wishing to speak directly to care home owners or employees affected by this announcement should contact Frank Ursell, chief executive officer, RNHA, on 0121-454 2511 or mobile 07785 227000.
A copy of the submission is also available.
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