Our healthcare regulation team defend those nurses and midwives whose fitness to practice is called into question by their professional regulator.
We operate a 24 hour initial telephone advice service for all professionals who require emergency assistance. For advice call us on 0845 00 20736, alternatively please submit our online enquiry form and a member of the professional discipline team will contact you.
Initially, allegations of impaired fitness to practice are considered by the Investigations Committee. Nurses and midwives investigated by the Investigations Committee should contact us at the very outset because our early intervention can sometimes avoid further action being taken at that initial stage.
Where a nurse’s or midwives fitness to practice is alleged to be impaired due to misconduct, lack of competence or a criminal offence, then the case may referred to the NMC’s Conduct and Competence Committee. Where fitness to practice is thought to be impaired due to ill health (mental or physical) then cases maybe referred to the NMC’s Health Committee.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council Practice Committees will hear evidence to establish whether alleged facts are proved, whether a person’s fitness to practice is impaired and hear submissions about a person’s mitigation and professional and employment history before deciding what sanction, if any, is appropriate.
The potential sanctions available to the Practice Committees are to take no further action, issue a caution, impose conditions of practice, suspend registration or strike off from the register.
Our healthcare regulation experts will advise and represent nurses and midwives throughout the entire process; from initial complaint, throughout the investigation and act as advocates at the Practice Committee hearings. For those who have already been the subject of regulatory action we have experience of successfully appealing decisions to the High Court and Court of Appeal.
