When are DBS Checks for children’s hospitals required?
Considering the age and the likelihood of frequent contact with the patients in a children’s hospital, DBS Checks are an important part of safeguarding protocol.
However, in hospitals there can be a large number of different staff and roles. Which role requires which level of DBS Check? Do all of them require one?
Our guide can cut through any confusion and help sort out who’s eligible for a DBS Check and what level check they might need.
How do you qualify for a DBS Check in a children’s hospital?
If an applicant is working in a children’s hospital, they may be able to obtain a higher level of check than if they were working in a general hospital due to the likelihood of them engaging in regulated activity with children.
The hospital must be a registered children’s hospital, such as Great Ormond Street or Alder Hey, in order to be eligible for a check.
What roles qualify for a DBS Check in a children’s hospital?
Anyone working in a regulated activity with the children (such as Doctors or Nurses) can obtain an enhanced DBS check with a check against the children’s barred list.
Providing professional healthcare is always classed as regulated activity, regardless of how often it happens and whether the person is supervised or not.
If someone is working with patients without supervision by a healthcare professional, for example:
- Reception staff
- Caterers
- Cleaners
- Volunteers
- Any job that has access to patients on the wards
Then this employee can obtain an enhanced DBS check without a check against the children’s barred list.
If the applicant is working in a children’s hospital in Wales – such as The Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales – the applicant can have an enhanced DBS check with the children’s barred list.
This must be done frequently if the role involves working three or more times a month with children.
If an employee does not have access to the patient wards as part of their profession, then they would not be eligible for a DBS Check – for example, if you were working in a hospital gift shop or a catering assistant in the hospital restaurant.
This is because any interaction they might have with patients would be considered incidental, like any visitors to the hospital.
DBS Checks for children’s hospitals: A summary
So, who requires a DBS Check in a children’s hospital?
It all depends on the likelihood of an employee engaging in regulated activity with children, as well as the contact that they have with them. If there’s no likelihood of regulated activity, then an employee is not eligible for a check.
If you’re still unsure whether your role would require a DBS Check then you can check your position against the NHS’s DBS eligibility tool.
Be sure to get in touch with us if you have any further questions. You can apply for a number of DBS Checks through our simple online platform – most checks are completed within 48 hours. Get started now.