Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Solicitor

If you are a nurse or midwife facing a regulatory investigation or disciplinary hearing, JMW’s professional defence solicitors will defend your case with the utmost dedication. Our specialist NMC defence lawyers understand the serious impact that fitness to practise investigations or proceedings can have on both your career and your personal life, and will work closely with you at every step of the process to achieve the best possible outcome for you.

Our team of professional regulation solicitors has a great deal of experience in dealing and corresponding with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in investigations, and in representing clients who have been accused of serious misconduct or poor professional competence. If a complaint or referral arises from criminal proceedings, our expert NMC lawyers can provide legal representation to defend nurses and midwives against any potential criminal convictions, and deliver legal support that is tailored to your specific situation.

We are well placed to offer guidance regarding any unjustified allegations and can represent you at all stages of NMC proceedings, from a first referral through to an appeal where necessary. To speak to JMW about a professional regulation issue with the NMC, call us on 0345 872 6666, or fill in our online enquiry form to request a call back at your convenience.

How JMW Can Help

JMW's specialist professional defence solicitors have many years of experience working with nurses and midwives to defend them against disciplinary hearings brought by the NMC. If you learn that a complaint has been made or an investigation has been opened, seek specialist legal advice from our team at your earliest opportunity. Early intervention by our experienced solicitors often means that cases are dismissed or no further action is taken.

JMW's NMC defence solicitors have a great deal of experience in defending:

• Hospital and community-based nurses and midwives
• Practice nurses
• Nurses in private practices
• Nurses employed by nursing homes

From the start of your case, we will take a proactive approach and use our extensive experience of NMC investigations and proceedings to advance the most robust and constructive defence on your behalf. We will work tirelessly to defend your professional registration and work with the regulatory body to have investigations dropped wherever possible.

We also have a great deal of expertise in representing nurses and midwives who have been referred for an interim orders hearing. Our fitness to practise lawyers will work to ensure that you are able to continue to work during the NMC’s investigation.

Meet Our Team

JMW's experienced NMC lawyers have a strong track record of successfully representing clients in investigations and fitness to practise proceedings. Our team understands that allegations of serious misconduct or health issues affecting competence can have a serious impact on your life, but we apply our extensive experience to everything from written responses to representation in hearings to deliver the best possible outcome.

How Do NMC Investigations Work?

An NMC investigation will usually begin on the basis of a complaint, sometimes regarding allegations of misconduct, low professional standards or other concerns. Our solicitors have handled cases where nurses and midwives have been accused of: 

Abuse of their professional position, for example, an improper sexual relationship with a patient or service user, or discrimination against patients or colleagues

• Dishonesty or fraud
• Serious or repeated mistakes in patient care
• Serious criminal offences
• Serious breaches of patient confidentiality
• Violence

If such a complaint is made, it will enter a screening stage where the NMC will carry out a quick investigation and determine whether or not there is a case to answer. The regulatory body must decide whether the allegation, if proved, could amount to impaired fitness to practise.

The initial investigation

If the case proceeds, the registrant is notified and provided with details of the allegation. They will have an opportunity to respond, and the NMC will collate this response with other evidence to build a full picture of the alleged conduct. Investigators may review documentation from your employer, clinical records, witness statements and medical evidence where your health is part of the issue. If the complaint has arisen as part of parallel criminal proceedings, police and court documents will also be used. Along with your response, you may submit evidence of remediation, training, testimonials, reflective pieces or health reports in your defence. Early action in this respect is often crucial in demonstrating insight, whether or not you accept the allegation(s).

An interim orders hearing

The NMC may apply for an interim order if there is a risk to public protection while the case is ongoing. An interim conditions of practice order or interim suspension order can be imposed by a panel. These are temporary restrictions placed on a nurse, midwife or nursing associate while an NMC fitness to practise investigation is ongoing.

In many cases, it means that the medical professional in question cannot practise while the investigation process is ongoing. When the NMC applies for an interim order, the application is considered by an Interim Orders Panel, which must be satisfied that the prohibition on practice or restrictions are necessary and proportionate in managing a real risk while the investigation or hearings continue.

Legal representation by an experienced NMC lawyer is the best way to protect your career at this stage and potentially mitigate or avoid the imposition of an interim order.

The decision

When the investigation is complete, the case is referred to a pair of case examiners consisting of one lay and one registrant member. They consider whether it is in the public interest to take action, based on whether there is a realistic prospect of a finding of impairment or not.

Several outcomes are possible at this stage. The case examiners may decide to:

• Close the case with no further action
• Issue advice
• Issue a warning
• Agree undertakings with the registrant
• Refer the case to the Fitness to Practise Committee for a hearing

Undertakings are agreed restrictions on practice and can enable you to avoid a full hearing. Your solicitor will advise you on whether this is a suitable approach in your circumstances.

The fitness to practise committee

If referred, the case proceeds to a Fitness to Practise Committee hearing. At the hearing, the panel considers whether the facts are proved and whether this means that the registrant’s fitness to practise is currently impaired. You will attend the hearing with your solicitor and have an opportunity to present your version of events and evidence in your defence.

When the fitness to practise committee finds that a nurse or midwife is impaired, it will also decide what sanction is proportionate.

What Are the Potential Outcomes of an NMC Fitness to Practise Hearing?

A range of sanctions may be imposed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council to resolve fitness to practise proceedings, or it may decide to take no further action if the necessary points are not found to have been proved.

Possible outcomes include:

• No order
• A caution order
• A conditions of practice order
• A suspension order
• A striking-off order

In some cases, the matter may be resolved by a Consensual Panel Determination, where the registrant and NMC agree the outcome in advance, subject to panel approval. Whatever the outcome, final decisions are normally published and following a period of 28 days in which you may launch an appeal, any sanctions will take effect.

How Can I Appeal an NMC Decision?

Appealing an NMC decision involves applying to the High Court in England and Wales to challenge the final outcome of fitness to practise proceedings. If you have received unfair sanctions or believe that procedural errors were made in your case, you can appeal against a finding of impairment, the specific sanctions imposed, or both.

You must lodge your appeal within 28 days of the date that you are notified of the NMC's decision. A solicitor can advise you of whether an appeal is in your best interests. This must be carefully considered, as an appeal is not a rehearing of the entire case and only hinges on whether the panel’s decision was wrong or unjust, which can require strong evidence.

If the decision was wrong in fact or law, there were serious procedural irregularities, or the sanction is deemed disproportionate, the court may recommend different sanctions, quash the finding altogether or dismiss the appeal.

Do I Need an NMC Lawyer for a Fitness to Practise Proceedings?

It is vital to seek legal advice during an NMC fitness to practise investigation, and representation from specialist lawyers during any NMC hearings. Often, making the right written responses at an early stage can lead to investigations being discontinued or minimise the potential sanctions that may be imposed.

The experienced team at JMW can help you to prepare for appearances before a fitness to practise committee, a criminal trial, an interim orders panel hearing or a coroner’s inquest, and represent you at all stages of this process. Our approach to defending nurses and midwives begins with us considering the witness statements and exhibits relied upon by the NMC, and determining whether this constitutes suitable evidence. From there, we can begin to collate evidence in support of your defence.

At all stages of the process, we will prepare formal responses and submissions to the NMC or to the case examiners in charge of the investigation, and help with the preparation of regulatory concerns response forms. JMW has an excellent reputation and a strong track record of success in defending nurses and midwives' fitness to practise and ability to continue working while an investigation is underway.

Given the serious potential consequences that can arise from sanctions, including being struck off, it is vital to seek legal advice from specialist NMC defence lawyers and give yourself the best possible chance of mounting a successful defence.

Q

What is the role of the NMC?

A

The NMC is the professional regulator of nurses and midwives for the UK. It maintains a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to practise in the UK.

In instances when care falls short of the required standards, the NMC will step in to investigate and act when necessary. The body has the authority to investigate allegations of impaired fitness to practice and bring formal proceedings when standards are not met.

Q

Can I still practise while undergoing an NMC investigation?

A

While NMC investigations take place, you may find that restrictions are placed upon your practice. The expert NMC solicitors at JMW will do our utmost to ensure you are able to continue to work during this time and we can advise on whether you may apply to remove or vary restrictions.

If orders such as conditions or suspension are imposed, it is important to note that they are subject to review before expiry. A panel will reassess your current impairment during this review, and the relevant conditions or suspension will not expire automatically.