Nursing regulator to consult on operational changes to FtP processes

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is to consult on a series of proposed operational changes to its fitness to practise (FtP) processes.

The regulator is looking to obtain powers to appoint ‘legally qualified’ chairs to its FtP committee panels as well as several technical changes to how the FtP process is run – including giving shorter notice of hearings and the ability to send information to registrants online.

It said the proposed changes intended to help ‘improve our processes to be faster and fairer for everyone involved’.

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The NMC was given the green light to launch a consultation on these changes during an extraordinary meeting of its governing council on Tuesday, during which the NMC was also given the go-ahead to consult on increasing its registration fees.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has agreed to support a ‘limited number’ of amendments to its FtP rules ahead of wider regulatory reforms.

Given this, the NMC will consult on the following changes to support its plans for improving FtP in which the NMC will have:

• Power to appoint legally qualified chairs to Practice Committee panels;
• Strengthened powers to issue case management directions, which give binding instructions to the parties on how to prepare for the case;
• Ability to send information via an online account or facility where the registrant agrees to receive information this way;
• Greater flexibility around its duties to invite representations from registrants;
• Power to give shorter notice of meetings or hearings;
• And can amend its provision for vulnerable witnesses, to clarify its responsibilities and its powers to support them to give their evidence as effectively as possible.

Current rules state that a ‘legal assessor’ must be present at every preliminary meeting and that the NMC’s FtP committee panels must take advice from the legal assessor on a number of matters.

In council papers ahead of yesterday’s meeting, the NMC noted that other regulators, including the General Medical Council (GMC), Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), have introduced legally qualified chairs.

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‘When appointed to chair a committee panel, the legally qualified chair, rather than a legal assessor, advises the panel to ensure that the proceedings are conducted in accordance with the law,’ the papers said.

‘The changes we are proposing would remove the requirement to receive legal advice from a legal assessor where the committee panel includes a legally qualified chair.

‘The rules will specify that legally qualified chairs will have the same qualification and experience requirements as our legal assessors.’

However, the NMC said that not every committee panel would include a legally qualified chair and so its rules would make clear that the panel ‘must receive legal advice from a legal assessor if the chair is not legally qualified’.

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Last month, the NMC launched its strategic plan for 2025-2027, outlining five priority areas aimed at strengthening public trust, improving regulatory performance, and embedding an inclusive culture within the organisation.

Spanning the next 18 months, the strategy is especially focused on tackling disparities in FtP outcomes, particularly those based on ethnicity and gender.