NMC Interim Orders Hearings
When the NMC receive a concern about a nurse/midwife, the NMC’s screening team will conduct an initial risk assessment. They will decide if an NMC interim orders hearing is necessary to protect the public, or if it is in the registrant’s own interests, or if it is otherwise in the public interest.
Attending an NMC Interim Orders Hearing
We understand that attending an NMC Interim Orders Hearing is a difficult and intimidating prospect. A great deal is at stake, even before the facts of the allegation have been fully investigated.
Having an experienced defence solicitor to represent you at an NMC Interim Orders Hearing can make a significant difference to the outcome.
At the interim orders hearing, the NMC’s lawyer (referred to as a case presenter) will make submissions about why the NMC think that an interim order is necessary. Then the nurse/midwife, or their legal representative, can make submissions about their position.
The options open to the Panel at an interim orders hearing are:
1. They can make no order.
This is the best possible outcome, as the nurse/midwife can continue to practise as before.
2. They can impose conditions of practice
Conditions can be widespread and may have a serious impact on the nurse or midwife and their ability to work. It is essential that any conditions that are imposed are workable and proportionate to the allegations. Fundamentally, the conditions should not be so onerous that they are tantamount to an interim suspension order.
3. They can impose an interim suspension order.
This is the worst possible outcome for a nurse/midwife. It prevents them from working as a nurse/midwife until the outcome of the substantive NMC fitness to practise investigation. However, it may be possible at an interim order review hearing to vary an interim suspension order.
NMC Interim Order Review Hearings
If an interim order is made, it will be reviewed by a panel after 6 months and regularly after that. It may be possible at a review hearing to persuade the panel that an interim order is no longer necessary, or that an interim suspension order should be changed to an interim conditions of practice order.
When there has been a change in circumstances, it may be possible to request that an interim order be reviewed earlier than normal, allowing for a quicker review to take place.
Contact us
If you have been referred for an interim orders hearing by the NMC, then please contact us for confidential and urgent legal advice. Our NMC lawyers have a proven track record of successfully representing nurses and midwives in Interim Orders Hearings and in achieving the best possible outcomes for nurses and midwives.
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