NMC Investigation
Stage 1: Triage or initial assessment
Each referral is assessed by an NMC triage team that assesses whether cases are suitable for the NMC to regulate and collects evidence. Suitable cases are passed to a case progression team who prepares it for a panel of the Investigating Committee.
Stage 2: Investigating Committee Panels
Panels of the Investigating Committee (IC) are responsible for considering all allegations made to the NMC about unfitness to practise. The IC screen the paper evidence in private to decide whether there is a ‘case to answer’. Once it has considered all the available evidence, the IC panel has a range of powers. It can:
- close the case with no further action taken;
- refer the case to a panel of the Conduct and Competence Committee (CCC) in cases about alleged impairment of fitness to practice; or
- for reasons of ill health, refer the case to a panel of the Health Committee (HC).
The IC also holds hearings considering fraudulent or incorrect entry to the NMC Register. These hearings are usually heard in public. If the panel is satisfied that an entry in the register has been fraudulently procured or incorrectly made it may make an order that the Registrar removes or amends a registrant’s entry on the NMC Register.
|
