A focus on fitness to practise: reducing inappropriate referrals

Whoever I speak to professionally since joining the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), despite the many areas that I want to share with colleagues – such as plans to scope whether or not advanced practice should be regulated – the focus of discussions typically circles back to a concern about a fitness to practise (FTP) case.

This discussion comes from one of two angles: either that an employer has made a referral and is keen to understand where the case is sitting in terms of progressing towards a decision-making point, or that a member of the public has raised a concern and employers are also keen to understand when the case is likely to reach a decision point. With both scenarios, there is a significant personal impact on registrants and members of the public.

This month, at the NMC Council meeting in public, the latest annual report on FTP (NMC, 2023) was presented in advance of being laid before parliament, which is the formal process that must be followed.