Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Acuity and dependency
- A measure of how unwell people are and how much care they require, used to calculate safe staffing numbers.
- Bank worker
- A member of temporary staff held on an organisation's own list and engaged directly to cover demand or absence.
- Care Certificate
- A set of agreed standards that unregistered health and care workers are expected to meet through induction training before working unsupervised.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK law that sits alongside the UK General Data Protection Regulation and governs the use of personal data.
- DBS Update Service
- A subscription that keeps a person's Disclosure and Barring Service check current so it can be reused and re-checked online.
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
- A criminal-records check showing whether a person is suitable to work with patients or vulnerable people.
- Duty to refer
- A legal obligation to report a person to the Disclosure and Barring Service or a professional regulator when they have harmed, or risk harming, vulnerable people.
- Enhanced DBS check with barred list information
- The highest level of criminal-records check, which also shows whether a person is barred from working with children or adults.
- Equality Act 2010
- The law protecting people from discrimination based on characteristics such as age, disability, sex or race.
- Establishment level
- The planned number and mix of staff a service needs to run safely.
- Fit and proper person
- A person who meets the law's requirements on integrity, competence, health and good character for their role.
- Fit and Proper Persons Test
- The Care Quality Commission's check that a service's directors are honest, capable and of good character to hold a board-level role.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers and regulates doctors in the United Kingdom.
- Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
- The body that registers and regulates a range of health and care professionals, such as physiotherapists and paramedics.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting out the fundamental standards that providers of regulated care must meet.
- Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006
- The law requiring employers to check that a worker has the legal right to work in the United Kingdom.
- Locum
- A clinician who stands in temporarily to cover a role, often through an agency.
- Mandatory and statutory training
- Training that staff are required to complete, either by law or by organisational policy, to work safely.
- Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- The body that registers and regulates nurses, midwives and nursing associates in the United Kingdom.
- Occupational health
- A service that assesses whether a person is medically fit for a role and advises on any adjustments they may need.
- Person specification
- A document listing the skills, qualifications and qualities a candidate needs for a particular job.
- Personnel file
- The secure record holding an individual worker's recruitment, employment and compliance documents.
- Probationary period
- An initial period of employment during which a new worker's suitability and performance are assessed.
- Red-flag event
- A staffing shortfall or warning sign that triggers immediate action to keep care safe.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Registered person
- The provider or manager who is legally registered with, and accountable to, the regulator for a service.
- Registered Provider
- The organisation or individual legally registered with the regulator to carry on a regulated activity.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975
- The law that allows certain roles, such as those working with vulnerable people, to ask about a person's full criminal history.
- Revalidation
- The regular process by which registered clinicians demonstrate they remain fit to practise in order to keep their registration.
- Right to work check
- Confirming and recording that a worker is legally allowed to work in the United Kingdom before they start.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
- The law that underpins the barring of unsuitable people from working with children or vulnerable adults.
- Safer Nursing Care Tool
- A recognised tool used to measure patient need and help set safe nurse staffing levels.
- Safer recruitment
- The set of checks and verification steps designed to deter and detect applicants who are unsuitable to work with vulnerable people.
- Schedule 3
- The part of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 that lists the information and checks a provider must obtain before employing someone.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Skill mix
- The balance of different roles, grades and competencies among the staff on duty.
- Supernumerary
- Working in addition to the planned staffing numbers, for example while being oriented, rather than counting towards them.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Workforce plan
- A plan setting out the number, skill mix and competence of staff a service needs to meet people's needs safely.