Dear Susan Beagley

 

Thank you for your email dated 3 January 2023, in which you ask for
information regarding fitness to practise investigations.

 

We are treating this as a request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 (FOIA).

 

We will deal with your request as promptly as possible and at the latest,
within 20 working days of receiving it, as required by the FOIA. If you
have any queries about your request, please do contact us using this email
address.

 

The reference number for your request is FR07834.

 

Kind regards

 

Freedom of Information

 

Health and Care Professions Council

Park House, 184 - 186 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU

[1]www.hcpc-uk.org

 

Follow us on [2]Facebook, [3]LinkedIn, [4]Twitter and [5]YouTube​
​Please consider the environment before printing this email
Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
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Our Ref. FR07834

 

 

Dear Susan Beagley

 

Thank you for your email dated 3 January 2023, in which you ask for
information regarding fitness to practise investigations.

 

Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).

 

Please find below our response to your questions (in the order presented
in your email).

 

1. What are your Policies in full in regards to fitness to practice 
investigations?

 

The Policies that relate to our fitness to practise investigations are:

·       [1]Health and character declarations policy

·       [2]Threshold policy for fitness to practise investigations

·       [3]HCPC’s approach to the investigation of health matters

·       [4]Sanctions policy

·       [5]Fitness to practise publication policy

 

2. What are your investigation timeless re FTP and are there penalties for
not meeting these?

 

Our current case progression key performance indicators (KPIs) are:

·       Cases concluded pre-Investigating Committee Panel (threshold and
ICP decisions) within 33 weeks of receipt

·       Cases concluded at a final hearing within 39 weeks of the decision
by the Investigating Committee that there is a case to answer.

 

The time a case takes to reach the end of the process can vary. This
depends on the nature of the investigation we need to carry out, how
complicated the issues are and whether there may be related investigations
by other organisations, such as the police. As a result of this, each
stage of the process may take a shorter or longer period of time. We do
not incur a penalty for not meeting these KPIs.

 

3. What are your policies on neuro diversity for registrants?

 

We do not have a standalone policy on neurodivergence for registrants.
However, during the course of our fitness to practise investigations, and
any subsequent hearings that may arise, we make reasonable adjustments for
any party’s disability or long-term health condition of which we are made
aware. These are agreed between ourselves and the registrant, witness or
other party to ensure that everyone is able to play a full and active part
in the process, and that no-one is unfairly or unlawfully disadvantaged as
a consequence of a disability or long-term health condition.

 

4. Please provide me with statistics on how many registrants have
committed suicide whilst under investigation.

 

This information is not held by the HCPC. Our primary concern is knowing
if a registrant has died, so that we can take necessary practical actions,
such as closing their entry in the register. If a fitness to practise case
is open, it also enables us to close the case and record that we have done
so. At that point, the cause of death has not always been established.
Where the person has died unexpectedly or other than as a result of
natural causes, the coroner (or in Scotland, the procurator fiscal) must
be notified and an inquest may be held. That is always the case for a
suspected suicide and only after the completion of the inquest can a final
death certificate be issued which records the cause of death. That is
likely to come some considerable time after the death has occurred and,
crucially for our regulatory purposes, after we have removed the person
from the register and closed any open fitness to practise case. As a
result, we do not collect and record causes of death where an inquest has
been required.

 

5. To what body or organisation does one make a complaint about the HCPC?

 

We would encourage people to raise their complaint with us in the first
instance and this can be done by emailing [6][email address].
Alternatively, concerns can be raised with [7]Professional Standards
Authority.

 

6. How have you addressed the failings identified by the professional
standards authority re your fitness to practice issues and are you now
fully compliant with same?

 

Our [8]Fitness to practise performance report provides an update on our
progress of the Fitness to Practise Improvement Plan.  

 

7. What are the qualifications held by your investigators and are they
nationally accredited?

 

Please find attached the job description for our fitness to practise Case
Manager’s, which details the qualifications our Case Managers hold.

 

Further information on our fitness to practise and investigation process
can be found on our website at [9]https://www.hcpc-uk.org/concerns/.

 

Internal review

 

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request a review by writing to:

 

Governance Department

Health and Care Professions Council

Park House

184 - 186 Kennington Park Road

London

SE11 4BU

 

Email: [10][email address]

 

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Website: [11]www.ico.org.uk

 

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Kind regards

 

Freedom of Information

 

Health and Care Professions Council

Park House, 184 - 186 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU

[12]www.hcpc-uk.org

 

Follow us on [13]Facebook, [14]LinkedIn, [15]Twitter and [16]YouTube​
​Please consider the environment before printing this email
Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
neu Saesneg

 

 

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