Health unions have expressed fears that the introduction of vetting checks for all NHS staff could result in delays which could hamper service delivery.
The concerns follow an announcement made earlier this month by the health minister, John Hutton, that the NHS is set to undergo checks by the beleaguered Criminal Records Bureau for all new recruits who will have access to patients as part of their everyday NHS duties.
While most healthcare professions are regulated, a large section of the NHS workforce currently have no regulatory body to ensure their personal credentials. Other NHS workers, such as porters and other non-clinical staff dealing with patients, will also be brought into the fold.
The announcement came ahead of a damning report published yesterday by the parliamentary public accounts committee, which found the agency was still not providing all the services it was designed to deliver.
The CRB, launched two and a half years ago to check that people working with children or vulnerable adults did not have a criminal background, said it was still "in discussions" with the Department of Health over how to implement its recent decision to extend the checks to all staff.
But the CRB's track record so far is leaving health professionals unsure of what to expect.
Nurses working with children and elderly patients already submitted to checks by the CRB have seen delays of "weeks rather than days", and this hampered their ability to continue working, according to the Royal College of Nursing's policy adviser, Tim Curry.
"We have found delays in some other areas, such as learning disability, as well," he said. "CRB checks were delaying things, not massively, but there was a clear difference and it is undermining when you are trying to recruit."
He lamented the 'lack of consultation' in the design of the CRB, with little explanation given to employers or staff of what to expect.
The nursing regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, already insists on vetting checks for nurses before they begin training, and before they register at the end of their course.
A spokesman said the new round of mandatory checks for all staff could be seen as overkill. "It could be argued to be belt and braces or it could also be argued it is superfluous because the checks have already been made."
Unison said it welcomed the checks, but said the CRB needed to be able to deliver without inconveniencing staff. "We would be concerned if it turned out the CRB was unable to deliver these checks quickly to make sure people were in place and able to do the job they are employed to do," a spokeswoman said.
A CRB spokeswoman gave reassurances that the service could comfortably handle the 100,000 checks it expects will result from the recent DoH edict, saying it was small beer in comparison to the 50,000 checks it undertakes each week.
The select committee report, published yesterday, is the second in less than a year to point to the CRB's historic failures.
A report last February by the government watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO) said the government opted for the cheapest quote for the service. It said the CRB launched with insufficient provision of services in place, leading to a quick backlog building up.
