When we receive your concern about someone on our register, it goes to our screening team, who assess whether it should progress through our fitness to practise process.
What do our screening team check?
Our screening team check several different things, including:
- Step one: Do we have a written concern about a nurse, midwife or nursing associate on our register?
- Step two: Is there evidence of a serious concern that could need us to take regulatory action to protect the public?
- Step three: Is there clear evidence to show that the nurse, midwife or nursing associate is currently fit to practise?
Meet Lydia, a member of our screening team
How we determine seriousness
Seriousness is an important concept that helps us to decide if we should take action.
To determine the seriousness of a concern, we look at the risks that could arise if the nurse, midwife or nursing associate didn't address or put this concern right. These risks could include risks to patients, service users, and in some cases, the public's confidence in all nurses, midwives and nursing associates.
By focusing on these risks, we can see what the nurse, midwife or nursing associate could need to do to address the issues raised or what action we might need to take if they don't address them.
We only take action if we believe the nurse, midwife or nursing associate currently poses a risk to the public or what they've done is so serious it would damage the public's trust and confidence in the nursing or midwifery professions.
What happens if we don’t take your concern forward
If the screening team decides we can't help with your concern or that it doesn't need to be investigated because it doesn't meet the criteria listed above, they'll write to let you know why this is.
We know that this can be difficult news to hear, and you might have lots of questions, so please contact us if you need to talk about it further.
However, should you have serious concerns about our decision or have any additional, relevant information that we didn't have when we made the decision, please get in touch with your case officer.
Advocates
An advocate is a person who speaks up for you and puts your case forward on your behalf and makes sure health and social care services follow correct procedures.
They're not a family member, friend and they're not part of social services or the NHS.
An advocate will support you so you can be involved as much as possible in decisions about your care. For example, an advocate might help you get information or go with you to meetings or interviews to support you. They can also help you if you're making a complaint about the care you or someone else received.
| Healthwatch | Get in touch with your local Healthwatch to get access to the Independent Complaints Advocacy. A national network of independent local organisations which champions the views of people who use health and social care services in England. It signposts to Independent Complaints Advocacy and other local help and support organisations. |
| AvMA | Provides free specialist medico-legal advice and support with making complaints where there are concerns about patient safety, as well as support with inquests and other legal processes. |
| Citizens advice | Provides confidential and independent advice to the public on how to resolve a range of issues. |
| The Patients Association | Provides a helpline to answer queries about healthcare services, both NHS and private, and advocates for greater access to information, high quality care and involvement in decision making. |
| NHS Choices | A comprehensive list of advocates |
| Rethink Mental Illness | Search for an advocate specialising in supporting people with mental health needs and can help find one near you. |
| The Patient Advice and Support Service Scotland | An independent service in Scotland which provides free, accessible and confidential information, advice and support to patients, their carers and families in their dealings with the NHS. |
| AvMA | Provides free specialist medico-legal advice and support with making complaints where there are concerns about patient safety, as well as support with inquests and other legal processes. |
| Citizens advice | Provides confidential and independent advice to the public on how to resolve a range of issues. |
| The Patients Association | Provides a helpline to answer queries about healthcare services, both NHS and private, and advocates for greater access to information, high quality care and involvement in decision making. |
| The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance | The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance can help you find an advocate in Scotland |
| The Patient and Client Council Northern Ireland | The Patient and Client Council will help you to complain about any part of health and social care. |
| AvMA | Provides free specialist medico-legal advice and support with making complaints where there are concerns about patient safety, as well as support with inquests and other legal processes. |
| Citizens advice | Provides confidential and independent advice to the public on how to resolve a range of issues. |
| The Patients Association | Provides a helpline to answer queries about healthcare services, both NHS and private, and advocates for greater access to information, high quality care and involvement in decision making. |
| NHS Choices | A comprehensive list of advocates |
| Community Health Council Wales | The Community health councils in Wales will:
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| AvMA | Provides free specialist medico-legal advice and support with making complaints where there are concerns about patient safety, as well as support with inquests and other legal processes. |
| Citizens advice | Provides confidential and independent advice to the public on how to resolve a range of issues. |
| The Patients Association | Provides a helpline to answer queries about healthcare services, both NHS and private, and advocates for greater access to information, high quality care and involvement in decision making. |
| NHS Choices | A comprehensive list of advocates |
If the screening team decides that your referral does need to be investigated, they'll let you know and pass it on to our investigations team.
Referrals helpline
We understand that if you’re thinking about raising a concern with us, you have been and perhaps still are going through a difficult time.
Our new referrals helpline exists as an important first step if you’re considering raising a concern with us about a nurse, midwife or nursing associate. We can help explain more about who we are, whether we're the right place to come, how we can help you and most importantly, what support we can offer you.
By getting in touch with us, we can help you understand how to refer a nurse, midwife or nursing associate. Then, if you make a referral, we can better understand exactly what your concern is about and investigate it appropriately.
Call us on 020 3307 6802. Some calls will be recorded to help us train colleagues and monitor the quality of support we provide. We might use the recording to check details about fitness to practise referrals and complaints. There’s more information in our privacy notice.
Related pages
- Concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic
- Who we are and how we regulate
- How we regulate and the types of concerns we look into
- Who you should raise a concern with
- What happens when we receive your concern
- Investigating your concern
- Examining cases
- Meetings and hearings
- How we reach an outcome and what to expect after a hearing
- Supporting you during our fitness to practise process
- Jargon buster
