Fitness to Practise in Review – 2023

Our Case Success

2023 has been another successful year for Kings View.  We are proud to have retained our excellent customer rating, with many clients commenting on the fact that they felt valued, informed and listened to.

We are pleased to have achieved great outcomes for our clients this year, including a number of successful restoration applications. 

As a leading chambers specialising in healthcare law and regulation, our barristers give high quality specialist advice and have unrivalled experience in defending and representing health and care professionals including issues with registration, allegations made against you for poor professional competence, health issues and allegations of misconduct.

What our customers said

“I was given expert guidance, explanations and support throughout every step of my NMC fitness to practice investigation. This was invaluable to help deal with this extremely difficult and stressful period.”

 

“This Barrister Stephen McCaffrey is the best. Stephen never gave up on me and made me believe in myself during the toughest period of my Professional life. He is forthright but showed genuine care and concern for me.”

 

“I was in a very difficult situation professionally….I got in touch with Stephen Mc Caffrey and he got back to me very quickly with an honest, professional and objective opinion. This is what i needed during such an emotional time. He helped me navigate the whole process…by excellent preparations and submissions. We achieved the best possible outcome for me, even better than expected.”

Launch of Kings View Resolutions

This year saw the launch of Kings View Resolutions, set up to help and support health and social care businesses with achieving regulatory compliance, maintaining their compliance and dealing with compliance issues arising from the workplace.

Kings View Resolutions offers a comprehensive range of consultancy services:

• Regulatory Compliance
• Internal Training
• Conducting Internal Investigations
• Preparing for Independent Investigations & Reviews
• Mock Inspections
• Whistleblowing Services
• Crisis Management

Doctor’s confidence in the GMC

Doctor’s confidence in the GMC and its ability to regulate doctor’s effectively and fairly has not seen any improvement in 2023.  We reported on GMC research that showed that only

1. 33% of doctors were “fairly or very confident” in the way the GMC regulates doctors
2. 30% of doctors felt supported by the GMC to deliver good, safe care
3. 23% of doctors felt the GMC was focusing on the right issues
4. 62% of doctors argued that they thought the GMC looks out for patients’ interests, not those of doctors

The apparent erosion of doctor’s trust and confidence in the GMC to treat them fairly does point to the importance of seeking independent legal advice and representation.  Independent legal advice will give you an honest assessment of your case, protect your rights to a fair hearing, and will always look out for your interests first.

Fitness to practise reform

2023 saw an important step forward in the Government’s plans to reform fitness to practise.  In March the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) published its response the reform proposals.  In summary:

• The Government will replace regulators’ current legislation, through a series of statutory instruments, giving each regulator near identical powers through broadly similar legislation.
• The DHSC acknowledged that regulators may wish to take different approaches to regulating different professions. It said “much of this flexibility to be achieved through regulators’ rules” created under the new flexible powers provided to each regulator.

The DHSC indicated that the GMC was top of its agenda, including providing the GMC with the powers needed to regulate anaesthesia associates (AAs) and physician associates (PAs).  Just this week (11/12), the Government published the necessary legislation to bring AA’s and Pas under the GMC’s regulation.

There has been no legislation brought forward to remove the GMC’s power to appeal MPTS decisions.

GPhC, online pharmacies and supply of habit-forming medicines

We saw a huge increase in the General Pharmaceutical Council’s activity, focus and enforcement of online pharmacies and particularly those that supply habit-forming medicines, including sodium valproate.

Update to Good Medical Practice

This year also saw an important update to the GMC’s Good medical practice with the GMP including, for the first time, a definition of what constitutes “sexual harassment of colleagues” with the GMP stating that doctors must not:

“must not act in a sexual way towards colleagues with the effect or purpose of causing offence, embarrassment, humiliation or distress.”

Other areas of particular notice in the updated Good medical practice (GMP) are updates relating to:

• creating respectful, fair and compassionate workplaces for colleagues and patients
• promoting patient centred care
• tackling discrimination
• championing fair and inclusive leadership
• supporting continuity of care and safe delegation.

Disclaimer: This article is for guidance purposes only. Kings View Chambers accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any action taken, or not taken, in relation to this article. You should seek the appropriate legal advice having regard to your own particular circumstances.