Hearings

Making a complaint

	1. What if I am not happy with a registrant?
	2. How to make a complaint
	3. What happens next?
	4. Interim orders
	5. Information for employers

What happens after the hearing?

What happens at the hearing

What if a complaint is made about me?

Fitness to practise

If you are representing a registrant

home > Complaints > Making a complaint > 4. Interim orders

4. Interim orders

If the Council feels that an allegation is serious enough that the public might need some type of immediate protection, we may make an application for an interim order.

If this happens, a hearing will take place, often at short notice. A panel will consider whether the allegation means that we should place conditions on the health professional’s registration or suspend their registration in the period before a final hearing will take place. However, in most cases no application for an interim order is made.

What happens next?
After full investigation, a hearing will take place to consider whether the allegation against the health professional is proven. We will instruct solicitors, who will identify witnesses and prepare statements and documents in the case. They may contact you to take a witness statement. We have a witness support programme in place and will provide more details if necessary. We may need you to attend the hearing and give evidence.

What happens at the hearing?
Hearings are usually held in public. This means that members of the public (including the press) are able to attend. A shorthand writer will also produce a full transcript. However, the hearing may sometimes be held in private if the panel feels this is in the interests of patient confidentiality or to protect the private life of the registrant concerned.

The panel will be made up of a chairperson, a registrant partner and a lay partner. In hearings of the health committee, or if health is felt to be a factor in a particular case, a registered doctor will also be on the panel. A legal assessor will also be present. They play no part in the decision-making process but will advise the panel and the other people involved on points of law and procedure. We try to make sure the hearings are as informal as possible.

Our solicitor will normally open the hearing by presenting the case and calling our witnesses. The registrant or their representative may then cross-examine witnesses. The panel may ask further questions. Once our case is complete, the registrant may call witnesses or make statements to the panel.

The panel will leave the room to decide whether the allegation is proven. If they decide the case is proven, they say that it is ‘well-founded’.