Dr Minh Alexander retired consultant psychiatrist 26 September 2023
Because of concerns, I asked Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust about past failures of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on its staff via a Freedom of Information request, which was refused by the trust on grounds that it would be making the information public at a forthcoming board meeting.
| The FOI request to Gateshead: These were the FOI questions, asked on 4 August 2023: Please advise if since 1 April 2019 any failures of disclosure and barring procedure at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust have been identified. Please provide details of the nature and scale of any breaches (eg. how many staff were not subject to DBS checks or alternatively, how many staff records contained no evidence of DBS checks). If known, when did any breaches commence? If known, when were the breaches discovered? What action did the trust take to address any breaches? Did the trust inform NHS England and the Care Quality Commission of any DBS breaches, and if so, when did it inform them? What reviews and or investigations have been conducted into any DBS breaches or potential breaches? Please provide a broad account of any internal reviews and a summary of their outcome. If external review has taken place, please disclose who undertook the review, the terms of reference given to them, a summary of the outcome and the report of any review. This was Gateshead’s response of 5 September 2023 Ref FoI 2023-24.3185: “We can confirm that the Trust holds the information requested in questions 4-13 inclusive, but considers it exempt from disclosure in accordance with s.22(1) of FOIA which covers information which is intended for future publication. The Trust intends to publicly disclose the information sought in relation to questions 4-13 at its Trust Board meeting on 28th September 2023.” |
DBS checks are done to find out about past criminal convictions and in some cases, whether individuals are on barred lists.
The checks are important in health and care services to ensure that trustworthy staff are employed to provide care, especially to the most vulnerable. DBS checks are an essential component of Safeguarding patients. Failures to carry DBS checks are a failure of Safeguarding, and are a serious matter.
Importantly, Gateshead was until March 2023 led by Yvonne Ormston, who was the former CEO of North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, which has more recently been the subject of very serious concerns about whistleblower suppression, deaths and alleged manipulation of information supplied to the coroner.
Interestingly, at NEAS, there was an earlier reported failure of DBS checks over FOUR years, leading to the CQC issuing a Section 29A warning notice in February 2014 (Ormston became NEAS CEO in October 2014).
A recent FOI request was made about this to the CQC by David Change on 7 August 2023, on the What Do They Know website:
NEAS – DBS Checks and Management Concerns – Section 29(a) Notice – CQC – August 2020
Disturbingly, CQC replied:
“The section 29A warning notice was issued at that time due to concerns that staff with positive DBS disclosures were not managed in line with trust policy. In addition, individuals employed by NEAS who had significant safeguarding concerns raised about them in respect of concerns raised outside of the workplace were not being managed appropriately or in a timely manner.”
Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust has now published a report on its past DBS failures, amongst its papers for a trust board meeting tomorrow. See page 104, report on Disclosure and Barring Service Checks by Amanda Venner, Interim Executive Director of People & OD.
Venner’s report admits:
“Following an internal review, some gaps were Identified in historical DBS records (either no record or record at lower level than required for job role).”
Venner fails to give the date of the “internal review” but she states:
“An internal audit in May 2023 identified that some staff did not have a DBS check recorded on their records or that their DBS check was not at the correct level of assurance.”
“After initial audit 977 staff and volunteer records had DBS either missing or incomplete.
Current position is:
• 863 checks complete.
• 1 check outstanding (Trust volunteer).
• 59 staff have left the organisation
• 10 found to be not required.
• 20 long term sick/maternity.
• 24 in progress (with the DBS or for internal checking).
There is 1 check outstanding for a Trust volunteer who is aware that they will not be able to undertake volunteering duties for the Trust until this check is complete.”
“15 individuals either self-declared or were found to have cautions/convictions on their DBS check. Any convictions declared by colleagues during the process or notified by the DBS service were risked assessed locally and signed off as low risk by the Deputy Chief Executive/Chief Nurse and Professional Lead for Midwifery and AHPs and Interim Executive Director of People and OD. There have been no formal procedures necessary as a result of information received from the DBS.”
Would the trust ever have publicly admitted to these failures if it had not been asked about them? And how long has the problem actually existed?
The trust would like us to focus on the period from May 2023, but it has not actually answered all the relevant questions.
Venner claims in her report:
“As soon as the situation became apparent to the Trust on 19th May 2023, the Care Quality Commission, the Integrated Care Board and NHS England were notified of the position and the plan to address it.”
Since 2020, up to June 2023, the Executive Director of People and OD at Gateshead was Lisa Critchton-Jones. These are details from her LinkedIn entry:
Since July 2023, she has been the Assistant Director of Engagement (North),at NHS Employers:
And we should of course remember that Ormston was named by the Health Service Journal as one of the top 50 NHS CEOs:
And HSJ has never, ever, ever been known to be wrong…..
RELATED ITEMS
The NEAS families and whistleblowers want a public inquiry into failures and cover ups.
Their case is strengthened by the growing deaths scandal at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation, currently being investigated by the police, because the flawed NHS England on NEAS was conducted by Marianne Griffiths the former CEO at Sussex.
Alexander's Excavations 