Olliers are able to provide professional assistance to those facing proceedings before the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). We are able to provide expert representation for all healthcare professionals throughout the course of their dealings with the HCPC advising at all stages of the disciplinary proceedings from initial referral, dealing with full fitness to practice hearings before the Conduct and Competence Committee.
As professionals we understand the anxiety that a referral to your professional regulator can cause in terms of the potential loss or restriction upon your ability to practice. Olliers have developed a practice robustly defending professionals due to appear before the HCPC.
What is the HCPC?
The HCPC is the Health and Care Professions Council. They regulate 15 Health and Care Professions including the following;
- Arts therapists
- Medical scientists
- Chiropodists/podiatrists
- Clinical Scientist
- Dieticians
- Hearing Aid Dispensers
- Occupational Therapists
- Operating Department Practitioners
- Orthoptists
- Paramedics
- Physiotherapists
- Prosthetics/Orthotists
- Radiographers
- Speech and Language therapists
What types of HCPC matters can Olliers assist with?
We can assist with the following types of investigation where the HCPC may consider that your fitness to practice could be impaired;
- Misconduct (dishonesty, inappropriate behaviour)
- A lack of competence in relation to your skills and knowledge
- A conviction or a caution in relation to a criminal offence
- Your physical or mental health
- Inclusion of your name on the DBS Barred List preventing you from working with vulnerable adults or children
- A decision made by another professional regulator
What does a HCPC investigation involve?
The HCPC may begin an investigation if there is a concern in relation to you adhering to standards produced by the HCPC. The HCPC will conduct an initial investigation gathering relevant information about the concern that has been referred to them. They may also notify an individual’s employer and request information from them directly depending on the nature of the concern. They will then assess the concern in the information they have obtained about it against their threshold criteria for fitness to practice investigations. This would/will determine whether the concern in the information they have gathered amounts to an allegation that a registrant’s fitness to practice may be impaired. They will take into account whether the matter could amount to a breach of the HCPC standards.
You will be given the opportunity to respond in writing to any allegations being made about you. The HCPC will then make a decision as to whether to refer the matter to the Conduct and Competence Committee.
If they find that the/their concern does meet the threshold the matter will be referred to their investigating committee who will decide if there is a case to answer or not. If they decide the threshold has not been met they will close the case and take no further action.
Some concerns they receive are so serious that they will meet the threshold criteria at the point they decide that a concern is within their remit, for example, serious violence, sexual offences or serious or sustained dishonesty. These cases will be referred automatically to the investigating committee from the triage stage without going through an initial investigation. This is because if proven, they are likely to result in the HCPC taking action on a registrant’s registration.
Interim Orders Hearings
At an interim orders hearing the HCPC will provide submissions to the panel as to why they think an interim order is necessary. The registrant or their representative will then be able to respond to such submissions. The independent legal assessor will provide legal advice to the panel who will then retire to make their decision on whether to impose an interim order which could be interim conditions of practice or an interim suspension order.
If an interim order is imposed, then a review will take place within six months of the order being imposed. Subsequent reviews will take place every three months until the order expires. At each review the interim order may be confirmed, varied, replaced or revoked. A registrant is entitled to request an early review at any time.
Fitness to Practice Hearing
The Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) is the hearing service of the Health And Care Professions Council (HCPC). Although it remains part of the HCPC the HCPTS seeks to emphasise that hearings are conducted and managed by independent panels at arm’s length from the HCPC.
There are a number of different practice committees that can hear allegations and make decisions;
- A conduct and competence panel will hear cases involving misconduct, lack of competence, a conviction or caution or a determination by another regulatory body.
- Cases that concern the health of the registrant are heard before a health panel
- For cases concerning an incorrect or fraudulent register entry, an investigating panel will hear the case.
Sanctions
If the HCPC make a finding they can undertake the following action;
- Take no further action
- Issue a caution to you with a warning being placed against your name on the register for a specific period of time
- Impose conditions that you must adhere to
- Suspend your name from the HCPC register for a minimum period of 12 months
- Erase your name from the HCPC register meaning you are no longer allowed to practice
Our experience
At Olliers we have wide ranging expertise in this area and are able to deal with the full range of fitness to practice issues.
Fees
Olliers are able to be engaged on either an hourly rate basis or we can offer an ‘agreed fee’ service to provide peace of mind that costs will not escalate beyond what was agreed. We will be happy to provide a bespoke quotation for your individual case.
Require a specialist HCPC solicitor?
Should you require assistance with any matter before the HCPC, please contact our specialist professional disciplinary team for an initial confidential discussion as to how Olliers can assist.
Please contact us by telephone on 0161 834 1515, by email to info@olliers.com or complete the form below.
