Fitness to practise: Incident reporting and professional behaviour

Abstract

Fitness to Practise is a complex, multi-faceted issue which impacts on both clinical and academic staff. It can be challenging to manage Fitness to Practise issues and reach a satisfactory outcome for all parties. Fitness to Practise issues are often complicated by a lack of evidence, or a failure to follow the correct process for managing the case. A key element of this is ‘Failing to Fail’ clinical assessments. This can lead to cases being taken to appeal with the Office for the Independent Adjudicator (OIA). This workshop will discuss the issues affecting Fitness of Practise cases, and share ideas and strategies for managing these situations more effectively. The experience of participating in a HCPC Fitness to Practise panel will be shared, in order help workshop participants understand the Fitness to Practise issues from the regulatory perspective.