Professional Disciplinary

Health and social care providers who are also registered as nurses or doctors often have to deal with a two-pronged attack from regulators because they may have to deal with criticisms from both the provider regulator, such as the CQC or Ofsted, as well as from professional regulators such as the General Medical Council (GMC) or the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). There is also greater emphasis now on regulators sharing information between bodies. This means that provider regulators and professional regulators are likely to refer matters to each other where appropriate.

If you do have to deal simultaneously with a professional regulator alongside your provider regulator, Ridouts team of specialist lawyers is best placed to advise on both fronts as each is likely to impact on the other.

Team members at Ridouts have extensive experience of dealing with professional regulators and have dealt with a wide range of allegations.

Ridouts can help you by:

Advising and representing providers faced with GMC, NMC, GDC or HCPA proceedings;
Challenging decisions to impose interim orders against nurses or doctors;
Challenging, in appropriate cases, that there is no case to answer with the result that the case never reaches a substantive hearing;
Help to identify the evidence which a panel is most likely to find persuasive if individuals do attend a hearing;
Drafting witness statements and helping to identify which are the most appropriate documents to exhibit;
Conducting the advocacy at interim order or substantive hearings;
Help conducting appeals against professional regulators in the High Court, if appropriate

When dealing with any form of disciplinary procedure, things can get difficult and complicated, when you’re being investigated from both sides, you need specialist legal advice to help you navigate the issue. Our health and social care lawyers understand what is required from all forms of disciplinary procedure, and can give you the knowledge that you need in order to challenge and succeed in overcoming the issue.

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Case Study

A private GP client approached us with correspondence from the General Medical Council (GMC) indicating that a patient had made a detailed complaint about him after a recent appointment. The GMC had invited the GP to submit comments on the allegations. We undertook a detailed review of the complaint and interviewed the GP in order to gather information to give the GMC our Client’s side of the story.

When the GMC investigate a case we emphasise to clients the importance of properly addressing the concerns raised to the organisation in order to force a detailed and fair investigation. In this case we were able to produce evidence which contradicted the allegations made against the doctor. The GMC referred the investigation to an independent expert who assessed both the original allegation and the doctor’s response. On the basis of our representations on behalf of the doctor, the investigation concluded that there was no case to answer.

Allegations against any professional can be stressful and potentially very damaging. It is imperative that professionals spend time providing carefully considered information in order to give investigators a full picture their position and encourage a positive conclusion.

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I got through to Paul immediately and he told me what to do there and then; I didn’t realise how limited the Local Authority’s powers were.

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