What happens if a concern is raised about me?

8 things you should know if a concern is raised about your fitness to practise.

1. The fitness to practise (FtP) process is not designed to punish registrants for past mistakes.

Rather, the process is designed to protect the public from those who are not fit to practise. Finding that a registrant’s fitness to practise is ‘impaired’ means that there are concerns about their ability to practise safely and effectively. In 2013-14, 1.2 per cent of social workers in England were subject to an FtP concern; a very small percentage, indicating that the vast majority of registrants are practising safely and effectively.

 

2. Your case will be allocated to a case manager.

If you find yourself the subject of a fitness to practise allegation, the case will be allocated to a case manager, who will remain neutral. They can explain how the FtP process works and what panels will consider when making their decisions. However they cannot advise you what to include in your response or how you should represent yourself.

3. We will give you an idea of how long our enquiries will take.

We understand that it can be stressful when an FtP concern is raised, and we will provide you with an idea of how long our enquiries will take at each stage of the process. In 2013-14 the length of time of cases referred for a hearing to conclude was an average of 17 and a median of 14 months from receipt of the allegation.

4. You can respond to the allegation in writing within 28 days. It is important to engage with the process so that you can give your side of events.

Once we have all the information we need, we will write to you with full details of the allegation that has been made plus copies of the documents we have collated. You are then invited to respond in writing within 28 days. If you need more time, your case manager can offer a 28-day extension, and if further time is required you can make a written application to the panel. 

5. You may find it helpful to get advice from your union, professional body or a solicitor at the earliest opportunity.

They will be able to provide advice on what to include in the response to the allegations which will be provided to the Investigating Committee Panel.

6. You are entitled to be represented throughout the process.

If the case is referred to a hearing, registrants are entitled to be represented, or can represent themselves, throughout the process. Information and guidance on the fitness to practise hearing process is available on our website, and explained in this useful YouTube video.

7. Cases are scheduled up to four months before the actual hearing.

We try to give registrants at least 60 days’ notice of the hearing date. We will also give you the material that we plan to rely on at the hearing 42 days beforehand. We ask registrants to provide their material 28 days before the hearing date.

8. Details of the hearing and allegations are published four weeks before the hearing is due to start.

We put this information on our website as the hearings are held in public. We do not put the information on the website more than four weeks before the hearing date to make sure we are acting fairly and balancing your rights with our role of protecting the public.

For more information download our brochure information ‘What happens if a concern is raised about me?’ or visit www.hcpc-uk.org/complaints/registrants

Fitness to practise: advice for employers and managers

HCPC's Head of Fitness to Practise Service Improvement, Sarita Wilson, highlights 10 things you should know if you have concerns about an employee’s fitness to practise.

1. If a registrant is ‘fit to practise’ this means that they have the skills, knowledge and character to practise their profession safely and effectively.

Fitness to practise (FtP) isn’t just about professional performance; it also includes acts by a registrant which may affect public protection or confidence in the profession. For example, if a registrant has been cautioned or convicted for a criminal offence.

2. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) will consider cases which question whether a registrant’s fitness to practise is ‘impaired’, or negatively affected.

This could be by misconduct, a lack of competence, a caution or conviction, the registrant’s physical or mental health, or a decision made by another regulator responsible for health and social care.

3. Incidents involving employment issues which don’t affect the safety or wellbeing of service users do not need to be referred to HCPC.

For example: lateness or poor time-keeping (unless it has a direct effect on service users); personality conflicts (as long as there is no evidence of bullying or harassment); sickness or other absence from work.

4. Concerns should be reported to the HCPC if…

…the behaviour or actions of a registrant have raised concerns about their fitness to practise; you have dismissed or suspended a registrant; you have taken the decision to downgrade the status of a registrant (for example, you place them under supervision).

5. Fitness to practise and employment processes are different and can result in different outcomes.

Issues that cause you as an employer or manager to take disciplinary action may not result in the HCPC placing any sanction on the registrant. In other cases, HCPC may take more serious action than you, which means that the registrant may not be able to work in their profession or has restrictions placed on their practice.

6. Letting HCPC know about your concerns does not necessarily mean that fitness to practise proceedings will begin immediately.

Neither does it mean you would have to suspend or end your own procedures. In many instances it will be more appropriate for HCPC to wait until you have finished your procedures. Even if HCPC does not immediately pursue an allegation, they are better placed to protect the public.

7. To raise a concern you should fill in an employer referral form.

This can be downloaded at www.hcpc-uk.org/complaints/
employers/raiseaconcern and emailed or posted to HCPC. Anything sent to HCPC will be copied to the registrant you are referring so that they can respond. If there is anything you would prefer not to be sent to the registrant, you should notify HCPC.

8. If you raise a concern with HCPC you can expect everyone involved to be treated fairly and be given an explanation as to what will happen at each stage.

You will also be given details of a case manager who you can contact should you have any questions.

9. You may be required to provide a witness statement or give evidence.

If the case is referred to a final hearing, you or members of your staff may need to meet with the HCPC’s solicitor to provide a witness statement. You may also be required to come to the hearing and give evidence. HCPC will organise your travel and accommodation if this is the case.

10. Employing a registrant who is the subject of a current FtP investigation.

Being the subject of an FtP investigation does not automatically make a registrant unsuitable for employment as they can continue to practise unless the HCPC has imposed an interim order preventing them from practising or placing restrictions on their practice. You can find out if a registrant has an interim order made against them by searching the HCPC Register.

For further information and advice for employers and managers visit
www.hcpc-uk.org/complaints/employers

Understanding Public Protection

Because the fitness to practise is such an important part of the work we do to protect the public, it is an area we are constantly trying to increase our understanding of and a process we are always reviewing.

Research

One important way we do this is through research. Today, we have released the data from our latest study, which shows that a fifth of UK adults have encountered behaviour from a health or care professional that made them doubt their fitness to practise.

The research also found:

• More than a quarter said the health or care professional in question seriously or persistently failed to meet standards.
• 16 per cent said they felt the professional failed to respect the rights of a patient to make their own choices. 
• 13 per cent felt they were ‘hiding mistakes’.
• 9 per cent felt they were exploiting vulnerable patients. 
• One in twenty said they had experienced or witnessed reckless or deliberately harmful acts.

Despite these figures, just three out of ten reported their concerns and a further 73 per cent said they would not know where to go to report concerning behaviour.

 

This data supports our research published earlier this year exploring public perceptions of the concept of public protection and how this might inform the fitness to practise of health and care professionals. That research showed that the public was most concerned about dishonesty, both on and off duty, and had an expectation that, at a minimum, professionals would be competent and qualified.  Importantly, the public also thought that judgements should always consider the context of a situation and be made on a case-by-case basis.

 

The findings of both research reports are reassuring because we are dealing with the areas the public feel they need protecting from the most – skills and behaviour – and support the case-by-case approach we already take fitness to practise. See our latest annual report and key information for a look at what we have been doing over the past year to protect the public.

 

Improving the FTP process

 

In addition to making interesting reading for professionals and regulators alike, the findings of the research are helping us in a broader piece of work to improve the FTP process for all concerned, for example reviewing the information we provide about the process.

 

Earlier this year, we held an event with representatives from stakeholder organisations, including professional bodies, to discuss the research on public protection and explore how we can continue to do this. Some key themes emerged from the discussions. These included:

• More and clearer information for employers and registrants explaining the difference between the FTP and other disciplinary or criminal proceedings.
• Case studies indicative of FTP cases that could be used as learning and discussion points.
• Clearer information for service users about what an FTP case looks like to help manage expectations on what we can and cannot deal with, as well as support and clear signposting for service users when they have a concern that is not a FTP issue.
• Better integrated and more interactive information, including cross-referencing exiting documents and more video and multimedia content.

We will be looking at both the research and the feedback we have received so far as we continue our review of the FTP experience.

Brian James

Head of Assurance and Development, Fitness to Practise

Notes:
- Today's research release
- Understanding public protection research, 2013

- Fitness to practise annual report
- Our How to raise a concern booklet

Putting public protection in the spotlight

We are on the road in Gloucestershire today to officially re-launch our ‘Older, wiser …be sure’ campaign with an exclusive screening of our new film at the National Care Forum’s managers’ conference.

The ‘Be Sure’ campaign is aimed at care home managers, carers and older service users, urging them to check that their health and care professional is registered and to raise any concerns about their conduct or competence. The campaign draws on research we have done that shows most older people do not check whether the person treating them or the person they are caring for is registered.

Checking that a health and care professional is registered with us is vital because it is the only way you will know if the professional meets our national standards for training, skills and behaviour. It is also important because it offers you protection if the professional fails to meet these standards, as we can take action against registered professionals.

In order to convey this message to a wide audience in an engaging and thought-provoking way, we chose to refresh the campaign with a dramatic film that shows what can happen when things go wrong.

The film depicts three older service users, ‘Doris’, ‘Rasheed’ and ‘Rose’, who receive inadequate treatment from both registered professionals and unregistered practitioners. Meanwhile ‘David’, a stretched care home manager, learns how quick and easy it is to check the register when a professional comes to see one of his residents.

Making the film was a great learning experience for our team. We carefully researched the chosen scenarios, which are partly based on actual fitness to practise cases. To make the film as accurate and realistic as possible, we shot on location at a care home, in a hospital and at a house. We also had HCPC registrant partners involved to coach the actors on good and bad practise for their respective professions. This was a wonderful opportunity for us to interact with our partners and learn more about their roles on a day-to-day basis.

It was also a good opportunity to see professional filmmakers at work and to appreciate how much time and effort goes into getting that perfect scene. There were some great acting and make-up artist skills – keep an eye out in the film for a very realistic-looking foot sore!

I hope the work that everyone put into making the film as realistic as possible will really get people thinking about the importance of checking that their health and care professional is registered and remind them that they have recourse if things go wrong.

If you are not joining us in Gloucestershire today, you can watch the film below. We will also be showing a shorter version of the film at the Care Show in Birmingham next month, so do stop by and say hello if you will be attending.




Ebony Gayle
Media & Public Relations Manager, HCPC

Notes:

Check the register online at www.checkthregister.org

Study amongst Older People aged 70+, Ipsos MORI Research Institute for the Health Professions Council, 2008.

A short version of the film is available at: youtu.be/PO8MuHeVaYY

To find out about other regulated professions see : www.hcpc-uk.org/aboutregistration/regulators