Anyone been referred to NMC?

[emptynestsyndrome]

Can't give many details obviously, but it was quite a minor issue. I was scapegoated and dismissed and then sent a letter to say I was being referred to the NMC.

That was over a month ago and I haven't heard anything.

Can I assume it's not happening? AIBU to stop telling people when I apply for jobs, since I have no confirmation that it's actually really going ahead?

Does anyone know what may be going on?

Mincepies it would only show online if decisions had already been made - in which case I would know by then. Thanks.

A minor issue? What are we talking about here - it seems very unlikely a case would be referred to NMC if it were minor

When you say they created evidence - what do you mean by that?

I can't say without totally outing the whole case. The evidence is totally circumstantial. I know I didn't do it. I can't disprove what they are saying.

The burden of proof lies with the NMC. They have to prove you more likely than not did what they are charging you with. However. Before it even gets to that stage they will notify you whether you are being investigated. That could take a while. Contact them and ask.

Second speaking to NMC it won't highlight anything unless the trust have contacted the NMC you need an answer now, were you with the RCN? you can still pay to be a member as a nurse you don't need to be employed.

Have you got evidence of what has been happening? Have you spoken to a union rep about anything to do with this before, as you say you are being scapegoated the trust must have evidence and reason to refer you to the NMC. Failing that you could phone HR and ask they should know, chances are they have accepted your resignation end of but, future employers will won't to know about NMC referrals so you need to find out. Good luck it sounds like an awful situation.

if you resigned surely they won't have referred you.

People do some pretty awful things and just get sent for retraining, so I wouldn't panic too much..

I know of someone who was working in a nursing home, a patient started to choke and she ran and hid in a cupboard, leaving HCAs to perform (incorrectly) CPR. I think that someone realised just in time and removed the item the person was choking on. This nurse got sent for retraining.

You can call them. Say that during a grievance at your last place of employment someone involved threatened to report you to the NMC, that you believe it was a comment intended to intimidate you and you wanted to confirm no such report had actually been made as you're now looking for a new job?

I haven't, an ex colleague was though, it took almost two years for them to be dismissed from the Trust, and then over a year from accusations to them actually having an NMC hearing. They worked as a nurse with an agency during that time - who knew they had been referred to the NMC, and just put them on shifts with more supervision apparently .

Obviously I don't know about your situation, but this nurse was accused of some pretty bad stuff. They only got a supervision order for 12 months and extra training.

Bite the bullet and ring the NMC.
If you are being investigated, contact your old union as you will need legal advice.
DO NOT apply for jobs and not declare it; if you do end up going to an NMC hearing that will definitely not look good for your character reference.

If you genuinely raised concerns about the trust and can prove that, you are protected under PIDA. You might want to consider both talking to NMC and CQC about that. The nursing and midwifery management leaders can be held accountable for breaches of PIDA on an individual basis via NMC and trust can be held to account under FPP regulation of HSCA if they failed to act when concerns were raised by a whistleblower to a member of the executive.

You might want to make contact with the chair and point that out.
That won’t prevent censure by NMC if you have acted outside the code but it would mitigate and it is on them to demonstrate that the breach of the code was your doing and not retributional actions by the trustbor one of the executives.

I was sacked for gross misconduct and referred to the NMC. It took the best part of a year for them to respond. They were very supportive though and informed my manager's that their investigation and treatment of me was way over the top and nothing that I did had any impact on my ability to continue nursing so I was able to remain on the register. It didn't help my situation much as the gross misconduct mark is a harsh one. Call the NMC and speak to them.

Phone the NMC it doesn’t work like that they investigate you for phoning they investigate of a complaint has been made , if you are pending investigation and you don’t disclose this and get a new job it will reflect badly on your character . I’m not sure why you resigned and never chased up the union more and are now putting your head in the sand with the NMC if you haven’t done anything wrong . You need to be open honest and transparent contact your union and phone NMC and get some answers . I’m a nurse so aware of the process of this .

As Cherry said, if you whistleblew (obviously you don’t have to say on here) things are slightly different and it would’ve worth reading Cherry’s post carefully. This is a public forum and I do think it’s important for people reading to understand that things aren’t always as simple as they seem at first glance, even if that is not the case here.

Agree also with PP, the NMC are verrrrrrry slow and a month is nothing I’m afraid.

I was never considering applying for jobs and not declaring, to be dishonest. I was thinking if nothing is officially happening then why tar myself like that - as pp said, misconduct is enough to do that anyway!

Thing is none of us can tell you if you have been referred. You must contact the NMC to find out.

Apologies but I'm still unclear about the dismissal / resigned issue because you can't be dismissed after you've resigned unless they didn't accept your resignation?

Have you received copies of the investigation report etc? It should be stated in there what actions they plan to take. Trusts can be absolute swines so do your homework & get your facts 100% clear.

You can send subject access disclosure request to the trust asking them to release all communication and records held about you. This means all emails anyone has, all letters, all reports, all minutes of meetings, all 121 records.

www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-make-a-subject-access-request.

There should be an information governance team who will respond to you.

I've done this and they've replied saying I have to give them dates of the communication I want, who would have sent it and dates and details of the emails etc that I am asking for.

Isn't the point that you do it to find the information you don't know about?!

I’ve been involved in referrals and agree with PP that the system is very slow.

The referral has to be backed up with evidence and detailed information so that the NMC can conduct an investigation. Contacting the NMC yourself won’t trigger any process.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to get in touch with your union / ex union, as they really are the best people to guide you and if necessary, defend you to the panel. If you were paying subscriptions at the time of the incident would that not cover you ?

One thing I would say is that a very high standard of proof seems to be required for the panel to sanction. You can read the outcomes from previous FTP panels online which will give you s9me idea of the time a case might take and what the outcome was.

Re-reading your posts - is it the case that your union advised you that they could no longer represent you against your Trust because you had resigned? (And no further action was required).

This surely doesn’t mean they wouldn’t represent you at FTP?

Are you the poster whose disciplinary was dragged out forever and in the end you resigned, and who has started doing something new?
I'm sorry for you if so as you've been through a lot.
I have no advice re NMC, except it's common knowledge they take ages. They do look favourably on honestly, taking responsibility and demonstrating you have changed. If there is evidence no matter how contrived then I think you may need to be humble. I believe there is good advice from posters above, I hope it helps you. Good luck.

Yes...but I told the "something new" the day I was sacked and they got rid of me too. I need to know what's happening. I'm trying to pluck up the courage to call them...

Just call them. Honestly, it's not worth the stress.
The worst that can happen is they revoke your registration, do you even want to be a nurse any more?
I knew it was nursing from your last thread.

Hi op, I’ll pm you

I have, had a bundle of papers to go through. Had to write a statement and send it off. It is then reviewed to decide if it needs further action. Mine was dismissed as no case to answer. It was hell on earth whilst it was going on. Do you belong to a union?