Once our investigations team has completed their investigation into the concerns about a nurse, midwife or nursing associate, our case examiners decide whether or not a nurse, a midwife or a nursing associate has a case to answer, and if they do, what should happen to the case.
They can recommend that we need to do further investigation before they can decide whether or not there is a case to answer.
In our fitness to practise process, case to answer has a precise meaning.
It means whether or not there is a realistic prospect that our Fitness to Practise Committee would find a nurse, midwife or nursing associate’s fitness to practise to be currently impaired using the evidence we’ve gathered so far.
Decisions case examiners may reach
If case examiners decide there is no case to answer, they can:
- give the nurse, midwife or nursing associate advice,
- issue the nurse, midwife or nursing associate with a warning, or
- simply close the case.
If case examiners decide there is a case to answer, they can:
- recommend undertakings to be agreed with the nurse, midwife or nursing associate, or
- refer the case to the Fitness to Practise Committee.
Case examiners can also decide that the case should be referred to the Fitness to Practise Committee to consider whether an interim order should be imposed. If case examiners don’t make this recommendation, the Investigating Committee can make an interim order at any point, until the Fitness to Practise Committee starts its consideration of the case.
Find out more about how we examine cases.
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- Last Updated: 31/08/2018
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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Related guides
FtP library
-
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
-
Screening
-
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
-
The four stages of our screening decision
- Interim Orders
- Investigations
- Case Examiners
- Preparing for the FtP Committee
-
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
-
Reviews
- Reviewing case examiner decisions
- Interim order reviews
-
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