A year of progress: How we’re achieving record numbers of screening decisions

Despite the challenge of sustained high levels of referrals received into screening – the initial assessment stage of the FtP process – the increase in decision volumes has helped us manage the screening caseload.

In April 2024, our screening caseload stood at 2,894 – 949 of which did not yet have an allocated case officer to move the referral forward.

In July 2025, the screening caseload dipped to 1,983 – not only is this a significant reduction, it’s the lowest level we’ve seen in five years. Just as importantly, we’re now allocating case officers to all cases within six weeks of receiving a referral.

This means we're making faster decisions that protect the public. At the same time, we’re providing people – those raising concerns and the professionals the concerns are about – with quicker answers, whether we resolve the case at screening or progress it to a full investigation.

How we’ve achieved this momentum

We’ve been working at pace to deliver the commitments set out in our FtP Plan.

• Targeted investment in people – We’ve increased the number of people working in our screening team to approximately 125. With clear, focused objectives and a proactive team culture, these colleagues are working together to deliver the right decisions at the earliest opportunity.
• Improved IT systems and triage – We’ve been embracing positive change by enhancing our IT systems and introducing a triage function. This is supporting our colleagues to screen concerns more safely and swiftly, and helping us to drive improvements in a more efficient and sustainable way.
• Updated screening guidance – Our decision-making guidance now places a greater focus on the risks individuals pose, enabling us to make more timely and informed decisions about their cases. This supports us to better protect the public and ensures we do not hold professionals within our processes for longer than we need to.

Lesley Maslen, NMC Executive Director of Professional Regulation, said:

"Reducing the screening backlog is a crucial step within our wider fitness to practise improvement journey. Only a year ago, around half of all our open cases were at that initial stage. Now, targeted improvements have brought the screening caseload to its lowest level for five years.

“While we have seen improvements, we are not complacent. We know that some people are still waiting too long within our processes, which is why we must continue to action the commitments set out within our Fitness to Practise Plan.

“With clear planning and targeted investment, we can make a real, positive difference to everyone involved in our processes – ensuring people receive faster, fairer decisions that keep the public safe and are sustainable for the future."

Further information:

• Our FtP Plan is available here.
• Our screening guidance is available here.

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