Media enquiries
Please note we only deal with enquiries from journalists
Information we can give to journalists
We want to make as much information about our work available as possible. Some of the information we can give to journalists is set out below.
If you’re a journalist and can’t find what you’re after, just get in touch with our press office and we’ll see if we can help. Please note there’ll be some information we can’t give out, for privacy and data protection reasons.
Our data
We publish data about our register every six months. This includes the number of people on the register, those joining and leaving and where they are from.
We also publish data about the number of fitness to practise referrals we receive about those on our register on an annual basis, in our fitness to practise annual report.
Finding out if someone is on our register
You can use our search the register function to find out if someone is registered with us. You’ll need their full name to do this. If they’re subject to a fitness to practise sanction, this will appear against their name.
If someone has been struck off our register, you won’t be able to find them this way. But we’ll be able to give the reasons for their striking off for up to five years after the decision.
Fitness to practise cases
Confirming details of referrals
A referral is just that – a referral. At the referral stage, no decision has been made about whether to investigate the concern raised, and no decision has been made about whether or not there’s a case to answer.
This means we can’t usually confirm anything about fitness to practise referrals, or cases that are currently being investigated. We can only consider disclosing information about concerns if and when we have investigated and case examiners have decided that there’s a case to answer.
Even after there’s a case to answer decision, our Fitness to Practise Information Handling Guidance outlines the balancing exercise when considering what information, if any, to disclose in advance of the hearing.
For cases that do progress to a hearing, details of individual hearings are listed on our website in advance.
We can’t give personal details (including someone’s employer or where they work) about those going through our fitness to practise hearings. We can only give details that are listed on our website.
Giving details of charges ahead of a hearing
Details of charges will usually be read out at the start of a fitness to practise hearing. If you want to know details of the allegations we recommend you request to observe the start of the hearing.
Once the charges have been read out at a hearing, we can give them on request, unless the case is being heard in private. We can’t give details of charges ahead of a hearing, because they’re subject to change.
Attending hearings
Most of our hearings happen in public. You can observe and report on public proceedings.
Sometimes all or part of a hearing will be heard in private. Usually this is when discussions relate to someone’s health. You can’t observe private hearings, or private parts of hearings. And any written decision will have these details redacted.
Outcomes of hearings
Where the fitness to practise of someone on our register is found to be impaired and a sanction is imposed, the reasons will be published on our website around 48 hours after a hearing has finished.
Where someone’s fitness to practise is found not to be impaired, or where no sanction is imposed, we won’t normally publish the decisions.
Interim orders
Sometimes, where allegations about someone on our register are particularly serious, we may need to restrict their practice while we investigate. These are known as interim orders.
You can attend and report on interim order hearings where these take place in public. Where an interim order is imposed, this will be listed against the person’s name on our website.
Giving details of witnesses and third parties
If the names and job titles of witnesses who have given evidence have been read out at the start of a public hearing, we can give these on request up to a week before they’re due to appear. We won’t give these details out once a case has concluded. We can’t give details of vulnerable witnesses, or the names of third parties who may have been identified during a fitness to practise or registration appeal case. For example patients, family members and other health and care professionals.
Media team
Timothy Swietochowski, Head of News - 07881 327 517
Ismail Khwaja, Senior Press Officer - 07989 730 330
Email: media@nmc-uk.org
Out of hours
Please call 07881 327 517
For information relating to fitness to practise cases, please check our hearings and outcomes section.
