What we mean by seriousness
Back to topSeriousness is an important concept which informs various stages of our regulatory processes.
When assessing whether a concern is serious, we look at what risks are likely to arise if the nurse, midwife or nursing associates doesn’t remedy or put this concern right. This could be risks to patients or service users or, in some cases, to the public's confidence in all nurses, midwives and nursing associates.
It's vitally important that we encourage nurses, midwives or nursing associates to try to put problems right where they can, because we want to promote a learning culture that keeps patients and members of the public safe.
By focusing on how risks could arise if concerns aren’t put right, we can see what the nurse, midwife or nursing associate may need to do to remedy the problems in their practice, or what action we may need to take if they don't.
When our decision makers are looking at overall fitness to practise, they’ll always consider what the nurse, midwife or nursing associate has done to remediate the concerns.
The guidance below helps us assess the seriousness of concerns by looking at how easy they are to put right, what could happen if they aren’t, and what the role of public confidence and professional standards is.
Factors that indicate the seriousness of a case
Back to topDecision makers across our fitness to practise process look at factors of a case to identify the types of concern which, unless put right, will usually mean a nurse, midwife or nursing associate’s right to practise needs to be restricted.
These factors indicate the seriousness of the case and we use these as a framework for the way we investigate cases and present cases before panels of the Fitness to Practise Committee.
The factors can be broken down into three broad categories:
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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.
Want to download and print whole sections of this FtP library? Visit the downloads page.
Related guides
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