Caution order

A caution order is the least serious of our sanctions in that it is the least restrictive.

A caution order is only appropriate if the Fitness to Practise Committee has decided there’s no risk to the public or to patients requiring the nurse or midwife’s practice to be restricted, meaning the case is at the lower end of the spectrum of impaired fitness to practise, however the Fitness to Practise committee wants to mark that the behaviour was unacceptable and must not happen again.

Because a caution order doesn’t affect a nurse or midwife’s right to practise, the Committee will always need to ask itself if its decision about the nurse or midwife’s fitness to practise indicated any risk to patient safety.

If it did, the panel members will then have to ask themselves whether a caution order will be enough to protect the public, given that it would allow the nurse or midwife to continue to practise without any restriction.

How long can a caution order run?

A caution order can be ordered to run for a period of between one and five years. It is recorded on the register and published on our website, and disclosed to anyone enquiring about the nurse or midwife’s fitness to practise history.