Fitness to practise annual report 2019

Key facts and figures

There were 2,424 new concerns raised in 2018–19, a 5.3% increase compared to the previous year. However, the proportion of registrants who had concerns raised about their fitness to practise remained very low, at 0.66%, with only 0.06% subject to a sanction.

The largest number of concerns (47%) were submitted by members of the public, followed by registrants’ employers (24%). The third largest group (18%) was registrants themselves.

Of the 2,917 cases we closed:

• 62% were closed as they did not meet our Standard of acceptance or Threshold policy respectively;
• 19% were concluded at Investigating Committee panels as, on further investigation, they did not meet our Standard of acceptance or Threshold policy;
• 12% were concluded at final hearings; and
• 7% were concluded at review hearings.

Improvements made during the year

In 2018–19 we concluded a major programme of work, our Fitness to Practise Improvement Project, designed to address the areas for improvement identified in the Professional Standards Authority performance review of our activity in 2016–17. Key improvements made during 2018–19 include:

• implementing a new Threshold policy for fitness to practise investigations setting out a new approach to investigating concerns in the early stages and to ensure that more serious and high-risk cases are prioritised and advanced;
• implementing a new approach to the investigation of health matters;
• developing e-learning materials to help teams assess and manage risks to ensure public protection;
• publishing self-referral guidance for our registrants; and
• implementing a new Indicative sanctions policy to ensure our decision-making process is more consistent.