Act early, act swiftly, succeed

The first stage of a fitness to practise referral, whether before the NMC or another regulator, is generally called the screening stage. At that stage, the regulator is likely to be asking itself the following three questions:

Do we have a written concern about a professional on our register?

Is there evidence of a serious concern that could require us to take regulatory action to protect the public?

Is there clear evidence to show that the professional is currently fit to practise?

If the answers to the first two questions are “Yes”, then unless the regulator has clear evidence showing the registrant is fit to practise, the case will be referred onto the next stage in the referral process.

Timely intervention at this stage, with the benefit of expert advice, can be crucial in preventing the corrosive effects of an investigation lasting several months, if not years.

I advised a nurse at this stage recently in relation to a referral based on 6 separate incidents, involving admitted poor medication management and record keeping.

Because the nurse sought advice from us sufficiently early, we were able to put together material enabling me to argue that there was clear evidence that they were fit to practise despite the referred concerns.

The screening department last week confirmed that as a result, the referral had been closed with no further action for my client.

My client was delighted with the result, as were we, in yet another example of our philosophy in these cases: “Act early, act swiftly, succeed”.