Determining the regulatory concern
If our screening decision is to refer an allegation about a nurse, midwife or nursing associate’s fitness to practise to the case examiners, we will clearly identify and articulate the issues that concern us as a regulator. We call these regulatory concerns. A regulatory concern allows us to focus on what it is about the nurse, midwife or nursing associate’s practice or conduct which appears to be a source of risk to patients, could affect the public’s confidence in nurses, midwives and nursing associates generally, or might require us to take action to uphold standards.
We should always be able to express the regulatory concern about a nurse, midwife or nursing associate’s practice in clear terms at any stage in the life of a case. This allows the nurse, midwife or nursing associate to understand why we say there is an issue with their practice that is serious enough to justify us a) investigating it and b) possibly restricting their right to practise or imposing other outcomes against their registration.
We review the regulatory concern in every case on an ongoing basis. It will always be drafted in the right level of detail for the stage of our process the case has reached. The level of detail is likely to increase as we gather more information and the case progresses through our investigation towards consideration by case examiners.
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- Last Updated: 28/07/2017
The guidance in our library, needs to be read alongside our NMC Guidance during the Covid-19 emergency period. We have new rules that are in force during the period of the coronavirus emergency that are relevant to how it applies.
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FtP library
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Understanding Fitness to Practise
- Aims and principles for fitness to practise
- Allegations we consider
- How we determine seriousness
- Why we screen cases
- When we use interim orders
- Investigations
- Examining cases
- How we manage cases
- Meetings and hearings
- Resolving cases by agreement
- What sanctions are and when we might use them
- Remediation and insight
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Screening
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The four stages of our screening decision
- The four stages of our screening decision - overview
- Stage one: Determine if the concern is serious enough to affect fitness to practise
- Stage two: Check it meets our formal requirements
- Stage three: Check whether we can obtain credible evidence
- Stage four: Check for evidence of remediation
- Cases not referred for further investigation
- Determining the regulatory concern
- Screening incorrect or fraudulent entry cases
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The four stages of our screening decision
- Interim Orders
- Investigations
- Case Examiners
- Preparing for the FtP Committee
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Case management
- Hearing fitness to practise allegations together
- Telephone conferences
- Preliminary meetings
- Dealing with cases at hearings or meetings
- Voluntary removal
- Cancelling hearings
- Constitution of panels
- Proceeding with hearings when the nurse, midwife or nursing associate is absent
- Case management during hearings
- Hearings in private and in public
- When we postpone or adjourn hearings
- FtP Committee decision making
- Sanctions
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Reviews
- Reviewing case examiner decisions
- Interim order reviews
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Substantive order reviews
- Substantive order reviews - overview
- Standard reviews before expiry
- Early review
- Exceptional cases: changing orders with immediate effect at a standard review
- Review of striking-off orders
- New allegations
- Reviewing orders when there may have been a breach
- Reviews where an interim order is in place
- Allowing orders to expire when a nurse or midwife’s registration will lapse
- Appeals and restoration