Handling concerns

Handling concerns

Anyone, including members of the public, employers and the regulators themselves, can raise a concern about a registered health professional’s conduct, competence, physical or mental health which calls into question their fitness to practise. The regulators are required to take action under their fitness to practise procedures where they receive such concerns. This can lead to a variety of outcomes including no further action, a health professional being prevented from practising or restrictions being imposed on their practice.

Our policy work in this area has considered many different issues, ranging from particular types of misconduct, to good practice in handling concerns, how employers should refer cases to regulators and whether greater consistency is possible across the regulators. We also highlight the importance of organisations working together for patient safety when we respond to consultations issued by other organisations that have responsibility for investigating complaints about healthcare.

Policy reports

• Modern and efficient fitness to practise adjudication
• Handling complaints: Sharing the registrant’s response with the complainant (Dec 09)
• Referrals of concern to regulators (Sep 08)
• Can regulators’ sanctions in fitness to practise cases be harmonised? (Sep 08)
• Clear sexual boundaries (Jan 08)
• Standard of proof (Jan 08)

Consultation responses

• Response to DH consultation on implementing a 'duty of candour'
• Response to GDC consultation on modernising fitness to practise
• Response to NMC consultation on proposed changes to its fitness to practise procedures
• Response to GMC consultation on the establishment of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (June 2011)
• Response to GOC consultation on changes to Fitness to Practise Rules (April 2011)
• Response to GMC consultation on dealing with cases at the end of an investigation (April 2011)
• Response to DH consultation on the NHS Constitution and Whistleblowing (Dec 2010) 
• DH consultation on fitness to practise adjudication for health professionals: assessing different mechanisms for delivery (Oct 2010)
• Response to DH consultation on proposed duty of co-operation (July 2010)
• Response to the Welsh Assembly Government consultation: Putting this right – better way of dealing with concerns about health services (Apr 2010) 
• Response to the NMC consultation on raising and escalating concerns (Mar 2010)
• Response to Health Service Ombudsman consultation on sharing and publishing information about complaints (Mar 2010)