On 23 March 2018, the Legal Action Group will publish the second edition of its ‘Professional Discipline and Healthcare Regulators: a legal handbook’. The handbook’s Nursing & Midwifery Council chapter is co-authored by Ridouts’ solicitor, Nicole Ridgwell.
In the foreword to the first edition, Mr Justice Collins referred to the handbook as ‘a necessary aid not only for practitioners but for all who are, or are likely to be, involved in regulatory proceedings. I am accordingly happy to commend it’.
As explained by the Legal Action Group:
The handbook is a practical and accessible guide to professional disciplinary hearings before the major healthcare regulators. It provides comprehensive coverage of the legal principles as they apply to fitness to practise proceedings alongside step by step guide to preparation, practice and procedure with tips and tactics for effective representation at all stages of proceedings.
This second edition has been restructured to make it even easier to navigate the general legal principles and there is extensive cross-referencing throughout. It covers the significant structural changes brought about by the newly formed tribunal services that aim to promote independence between investigation and adjudication stages of fitness to practice proceedings, the use of Legally Qualified Chairs, legal assessors, and the right of appeal against tribunal decisions.
