NHS 'must check foreign workers'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/7116831.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Scottish NHS boards need to improve criminal records checks for employees outside Europe, a watchdog has said.

The recommendation from Auditor General Robert Black came after a foreign doctor in Scotland was linked with the Glasgow Airport attack in June.

Mr Black also raised concerns that NHS Scotland had no accurate picture of the number of overseas staff it had.

But his report pointed out other key checks were properly carried out across a sample of five health authorities.

The auditor general looked into staff recruited outside European Economic Area countries, in the wake of the Glasgow Airport attack.

It is not clear what added value the recommendations will deliver Dr Peter TerryBMA Scotland

Bilal Abdullah, 28, an Iraqi doctor at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, was arrested at the airport after a Jeep was driven into the doors of the main terminal building.

He was one of three doctors who appeared at the Old Bailey by video link in October, charged in connection with the suspected car bomb attempts in the UK.

NHS boards are expected to carry out pre-employment checks on overseas staff to ensure they have the qualifications, experience and authorisation to work in the UK.

Although Scots health boards use Disclosure Scotland to carry out criminal records checks, the agency has no jurisdiction to obtain such information outside Britain.

The auditor general's report has now said, among other recommendations, that the boards should take on Criminal Records Bureau guidance, which helps employers with checks in several overseas countries.

READ THE REPORT <a class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/28_11_07_nhs.pdf">Audit Scotland report on overseas NHS workers [128KB]</a> Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html">Download the reader here</a>

"Although we found the some of the personnel records had evidence of these checks, this is not done routinely," stated the report.

Mr Black said the Scottish NHS had a high level of compliance with its own pre-employment screening policies, but added: "Our report highlights areas where the system can be improved to ensure that accurate information is available on the number of overseas NHS staff."

BMA Scotland chairman Dr Peter Terry said it was "extremely unlikely" that pre-employment checks would identify potential NHS employees people who might commit future terrorist acts.

"The report suggests that current pre-employment checks are working well in NHS Scotland and it is not clear what added value the recommendations will deliver," he said.

Scottish health authorities said they currently had 1,161 overseas staff, the vast majority of them doctors and nurses.

But the auditor general warned the numbers were likely to be higher, partly because boards had problems identifying which staff were on indefinite leave to remain.

The investigation also found that established check procedures at NHS authorities in Ayrshire and Arran, Grampian, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, and Lothian were largely being met.

These included passport, work permit and qualification checks.

The Scottish Government is currently revising its policy and guidance on pre-employment checks for overseas staff in the NHS.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "I was keen to have this work carried out in the wake of the terror attack on Glasgow Airport.

She added the Scottish Government, in conjunction with health boards, would consider the recommendations of the report and would ensure best practice was reflected in updated guidance on pre-employment checks for all staff - including those from overseas - it planned to publish next month.