The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) will no longer publish draft charges ahead of hearings.
NMC policy previously dictated that the “public charge(s) to be faced by the nurse or midwife” be published “as soon as possible after the service of the notice of hearing”.
In most cases this amounted to 28 days before the hearing starts.
However, from today, the NMC will publish a “headline charge” one week ahead of the tribunal with the full charges read out at the start of hearings and then circulated if requested.
A headline charge will distinguish a misconduct case from a case investigating a lack of competence.
An NMC spokesperson said: “As an organisation committed to continuous improvement we are constantly reviewing our processes.
“Following feedback from our stakeholders and advice from the Information Commissioner we have taken the decision to no longer publish detailed draft charges ahead of the hearing.
“These changes will help to ensure fairness to all parties as charges at pre-hearing stage may be subject to change.
“We will still publish details of each hearing, including the headline charge, a week ahead of the hearing taking place and we will provide a copy of the full charges once they have been confirmed on the day.”
Charges brought against nurses include theft, sexual impropriety and abuse of dementia patients and neglect.
