Fitness to Practise cases being resolved at fastest rate in nearly five years

The NMC’s key timeliness metric stood at 71.9% and 71.8% in September and October, respectively. In July 2023, it was 60.8% and has been gradually improving ever since that month.

The steady improvement in FtP timeliness has taken place despite an ongoing sharp rise in referrals into FtP.

In April 2024, the rolling average of referrals stood at 499 per month. This figure has risen to an average of 581 per month – an increase of 16%. In October, the regulator received 642 referrals.

NMC teams have risen to this challenge by maintaining a high rate of decision-making on cases. Across the FtP process, 1,038 decisions were made in September and a further 1,091 in October. In 2024 (January to December), an average of 799 decisions were made per month.

The sustained steady progress shows that the NMC is maintaining the momentum of its FtP Plan – a wide-ranging improvement programme that aims to improve the fairness, timeliness and quality of decisions.

However, while the gradual improvement of Fitness to Practise is very much welcome, there is still a long way to go.

Too many cases still take two or three years to resolve – and the NMC’s target of 80% of cases being resolved within 15 months, end-to-end, is still some way off.

Paul Rees MBE, Chief Executive and Registrar, said:

“Thanks to the hard work of NMC teams delivering our Fitness to Practise Plan, we are gradually making FtP more timely, with around 72% of cases being resolved within 15 months, end-to-end.

“This steady progress is good news for everyone involved in our processes. But we are not complacent and know that there is still a long way to go before we reach our target of 80% of cases being resolved within 15 months, end-to-end.

“The work to gradually improve FtP is taking place alongside our work to modernise our Code and revalidation process, as well as our work to review practice learning and produce new standards for advanced practitioners. At the same time, we are fixing our internal culture – so that we have a culture that is positive, empowering and inclusive. We are following through on our promise to build a new NMC – which is the strong and independent regulator that everyone wants to see.”

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