Sanctions and Disposal Options

Indicative sanctions - guidance on the use of sanctions to assist panels of the Conduct and Competence Committee, (CCC) and the Health Committee (HC)

Following information is available as a downloadable document Sanctions and Disposal Options [PDF]

	New Rule Committee Panels			Old Rule Committee Panels
Sanctions and Disposal Options
Sanctions	IC	CCC	HC	PPC	PCC	HC
Striking off Order		•	•
Removal - incorrect or fraudulent entry	•
Caution Order (1 to 5 years)		•	•
Conditions of Practice Order (up to 3 years)		•	•		•	•
Interim Suspension Order (up to 18 months)	•	•	•
Interim Conditions of practise order (up to 18 months)	•	•	•
Suspension Order (up to 12 months)		•	•
Removal					•	•
Caution (for five years)				•	•
Interim Suspension				•	•	•
Suspension						•

New Rule Commitee Panels - Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001
Old Rule Commitee Panels - The Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors (Professional Conduct) Rules 1993

Key to panel type

IC	Investigating Committee Panel
CCC	Conduct and Competence Committee Panel
HC	Health Committee Panel
PCC	Professional Conduct Committee Panel
PPC	Preliminary Proceedings Committee Panel

For further information please see FtP Committees

New Rules Sanctions

The NMC indicative sanctions are used to assist panels of the CCC and HC on the use of available disposal options.
Striking off order	Removes the registrant’s name from the register for an indefinite period of time. Prevents individuals from any employment that requires NMC registration. Registrant’s who are subject to a striking off order may not apply to restore their name to the register for a period of five years. Available to CCC and HC panels.
Removal - incorrect or fraudulent entry	Can be authorised by the IC in response to a fraudulent or incorrect entry on the register only.
Caution order (1 to 5 years)	Available to CCC and HC panels under certain circumstances (see indicative sanctions guidance). Panels must consider particular circumstances of a case and determine the period that the caution order should remain on the register. The registrant is not prevented from practising. Future employers will be alerted to the caution and will be informed as to why it was imposed.
Conditions of practice order	Available to the CCC and HC panels and to the PCC only as an alternative to postponing judgement (previously available sanction). Only imposed in instances where a registrant agrees to be bound by a set of agreed conditions. An order can be revoked, modified or replaced with a different order if circumstances indicate that it is appropriate.
Interim suspension order	Prevents registrants from working as registered practitioners until their case is disposed of. Suspension can be imposed for up to 18 months, but must be reviewed after six months and every three months thereafter. An order may be revoked, modified or replaced with a different order if the circumstances indicate that it is appropriate. Interim suspension orders are imposed in the public or the registrant's own interest and for the protection of the public.
Interim conditions of practice order	Available to panels considering cases reported after 1 August 2004. It is imposed in appropriate instances where the registrant agrees to be bound by the conditions proposed by the panel. The registrant must work within conditions imposed by a panel. Such an order is reviewed during the course of the period and may be revoked, modified or replaced with a different order if the circumstances indicate that it is appropriate.
Suspension order	Can be made for any time, not to exceed one year by the CCC and HC. The registrant is not able to practise during a period of suspension. This sanction is likely to be used in appropriate competence or health cases.
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Old Rules Sanctions
Removal	Means a registrant’s name has been erased from the register by order of the PCC or HC. Removal prevents individuals from any employment that requires NMC registration indefinitely. A registrant who has been ‘removed’ may apply for restoration to the register once at any time after their removal and thereafter following a period of five years.
Caution	Highlights the seriousness of any registrant’s professional misconduct without preventing them from practising. A caution imposed by the PPC or PCC remains in place for a period of five years. Employers are alerted to the existence of a caution and the reasons why it was imposed against a practitioner’s name when they check registration status.
Interim suspension	Imposed by the PPC, HC or PCC in the public interest, for the protection of the public or in the registrant’s own interest and prevents them from working as an interim measure until their case can be heard in full. The suspension must be reviewed every three months.
Suspension order	Available to HC panels and in exceptional circumstances the PCC panel. The effect is the suspension of registration and thereby withholds the ability to practise for a chosen period. A suspension order can be for a maximum of one year initially before a review must occur.
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First created: 12/02/2007
Last modified: 19/06/2008