CQC reference checking for healthcare — Regulation 19 evidence for every registered provider
Every private hospital, clinic, GP practice and dental practice registered with CQC is subject to Regulation 19 safe recruitment requirements. RefAssure generates written references with safeguarding questions and full audit trail automatically. From 99p, no subscription.
CQC & Regulated Healthcare — every guide
CQC Regulation 19 for Healthcare
What Regulation 19 requires for private healthcare providers.
Read the guideNHS Reference Checking Requirements
NHS Employment Check Standards — what written references must cover.
Read the guideHealthcare Safe Recruitment
Building a compliant safe recruitment process for clinical settings.
Read the guideDBS vs References in Healthcare
Why both checks are required and what each covers.
Read the guideHealthcare Pre-Employment Checks
The complete checklist for clinical and non-clinical roles.
Read the guideHealthcare Compliance Audit Trail
What documentation CQC and NHS audits expect to see.
Read the guideCQC reference checking for healthcare — what Regulation 19 requires
Which healthcare providers are subject to CQC Regulation 19
CQC Regulation 19 applies to all providers of regulated activities registered with the Care Quality Commission. In the healthcare sector, this includes private hospitals and surgical centres, independent clinics, GP practices providing regulated services, dental practices registered with CQC, optometry practices, cosmetic surgery providers and allied health provider organisations. The safe recruitment obligations under Regulation 19 — including written employment references with safeguarding questions — apply to every member of staff before they begin work.
Many healthcare providers are surprised to discover that their CQC registration carries exactly the same Regulation 19 obligations as a care agency or care home. The framework does not distinguish between care and healthcare settings. The obligation to obtain written references, document candidate consent, ask safeguarding suitability questions and retain a full audit trail applies equally to a dental practice as to a domiciliary care provider.
What CQC inspectors look for in healthcare recruitment files
During CQC inspection of healthcare settings, inspectors review a sample of staff recruitment files. For references, they look for written references rather than telephone notes, evidence the reference was obtained before the worker started, safeguarding suitability questions documented, candidate consent on record, and a timestamped audit trail. RefAssure generates all of this in one PDF automatically — filed in HR records and produced at inspection in seconds.
CQC & Regulated Healthcare — questions answered
Yes. Regulation 19 applies to all CQC-registered providers of regulated activities — including private hospitals, clinics, GP practices and dental practices. The safe recruitment obligations, including written employment references with safeguarding questions, apply to every member of staff before they begin work.
CQC requires written references covering three years of employment history, obtained directly from referees, with explicit safeguarding suitability questions, disciplinary history questions, candidate consent documentation and a full timestamped audit trail.
Inadequate reference checking in a CQC-registered healthcare setting is recorded as a Regulation 19 breach. Outcomes range from a requirement notice to an inadequate rating to enforcement action — the same consequences as for a care provider.
RefAssure generates written candidate consent, sends requests directly to referees, includes mandatory safeguarding and disciplinary questions, and produces a PDF with full timestamped audit trail — every element of Regulation 19 evidence in one document, automatically.
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Written consent, professional conduct questions, CQC and NHS audit trail — the same compliant evidence on every healthcare appointment.
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