Healthcare Professionals – Fitness to Practise
Healthcare Professionals - Fitness to Practise
If you are a healthcare professional whom Parliament deems should be ‘regulated’, e.g. a nurse, doctor, etc, your registration will be maintained by one of the healthcare regulators: General Medical Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, Social Work England, General Optical Council, General Dental Council, Nursing & Midwifery Council, Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, General Osteopathic Council, Health & Care Professions Council and General Chiropractic Council.
A regulator’s role is to promote high education and professional standards, and to investigate when concerns are raised regarding a healthcare professional’s ability to perform their role safely, due to problems with their conduct, competence and/or health concerns. This process is known as Fitness to Practise (FTP) proceedings.
There are a number of scenarios in which a healthcare professional may find themselves subject to such proceedings. You may have been expecting a referral following dismissal. You may have had to self-refer following receipt of a caution, conviction or being charged with a criminal offence. You might not even have seen it coming having been referred by a colleague or a member of the public. Sometimes the complaints are vexatious and/or anonymous.
Whatever the situation, this can be an extremely challenging time. It’s important to respond promptly to your regulator’s request for information and comply with any deadlines set. This is where seeking expert legal advice in this niche area of law can assist.
There are various stages to the FTP process with only the most serious of cases proceeding to the final hearing stage. There are also various options along the way to potentially resolve cases at an earlier stage.
Regardless of the circumstances, your regulator will want to hear your version of events. It will want to see you have insight into any shortcomings (where appropriate), evidence of remediation (further training and reflection), evidence of current good practice (testimonials from managers, colleagues, etc) and reassurance that any shortcomings will not be repeated.
Mistakes happen, but it’s the action taken following the mistake that is important. To put yourself in the best position you should take ownership of any shortcomings in your practice. A common example is drug errors. Your regulator will want to understand what led to the error(s) so context is important. Maybe you were understaffed and made a mistake due to rushing. Importantly, they will want to understand what further learning you have undertaken, whether you have raised concerns about processes/workload, changes you have made in your practice to ensure there is no repetition and evidence of good practice since.
Emma Davies is an experienced and compassionate lawyer in this specialist area. Prior to joining Everys Solicitors, Emma worked in-house for the largest nursing union for thirteen years representing nurses subject to proceedings before their regulator (NMC – Nursing & Midwifery Council) and investigations by the DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service).
Emma can guide healthcare professionals through the various stages of the proceedings, advising on options, the work required and the evidence needed, in an attempt to secure an earlier resolution.
Emma is able to offer different packages of assistance, dependent on how much input you require. She can help to assist with:
- Fitness to Practise proceedings from advising in relation to a self-referral/screening stage to a final hearing and all the stages in-between
- Interim Orders Hearings
- Fraudulent/Incorrect Entry proceedings
- Making applications for Agreed Removal
- Revalidation appeals
- Restoration to the register applications & hearings
- Investigations by the DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) and drafting submissions in response to Minded to Bar decisions
- Challenging disclosure of additional information on DBS certificates by the Police
Emma is an expert in this specialist field and strongly advises you take specialist advice to put you in the best possible position of retaining your registration and limiting any restrictions.
Tel: 01392 848950
