We know being referred to our fitness to practise process can have a significant impact on people’s health and wellbeing.
We encourage you always to support professionals who are going through the process, including those who are asked to give information or act as a witness.
The support will depend on the people involved and the concerns raised, but may be as simple as regular check-ins on the person’s wellbeing. There are also practical things that you can do to help professionals reflect on their practice and address concerns.
It’s helpful if you encourage your employee (or former employee) to engage with our fitness to practise process. This will help us to better understand the issues involved and more quickly resolve the case.
We recognise that both trade unions and professional associations play a vital role in offering local support, representation and guidance to staff.
When concerns arise in relation to a professional’s practice, we would encourage you to work with any elected representatives to ensure that staff are fully supported.
Careline
A Careline was established in October 2019 to provide emotional and practical support for nursing and midwifery professionals going through fitness to practise proceedings.
It’s delivered in partnership with CiC, a leading employee assistance provider. It gives emotional support and practical help and advice to all professionals during the process, available 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day.
Find out more about the fitness to practise Careline
Find out more about support with the fitness to practise process
Support line for witnesses or who people who have made a referral
Information about support for witnesses in our fitness to practise process is available on our website. There’s also an independent support line for people who’ve made a referral to us or the General Medical Council, or people who are a witness in a fitness to practise case. This offers confidential emotional support or practical help from a specially trained team.
Find out more about support for witnesses
Find out more about the independent support line
Our section on the guiding principles for a good investigation also support employers to make sure their processes are fair and open.
Additional support
1. Health condition – employer can manage the concerns locally while investigating
2. A positive culture toolkit for adult social care (skillsforcare.org.uk)
3. Case studies to help you decide if you need to make a self referal
Want to download and print whole sections of the resource? Visit the downloads page.