It’s been a busy and successful couple of weeks for Pump Court Chambers and the RCN at the NMC.

Louisa Simpson was instructed by Emma Davies of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to represent a registrant nurse in an 8-day trial before her regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The Registrant admitted charges against her that she had made a careless error, but denied that there was any dishonest intent behind the mistake. The NMC charged the Registrant with dishonestly omitting information from paperwork.

Louisa was able to successfully persuade the NMC Fitness to Practise Panel that the Registrant’s evidence of an honest mistake should be preferred, and as such the Charge of Dishonesty was found Not Proven.

The Panel moved on to Stage 2, to consider whether the Registrant’s Fitness to Practise as a Nurse was impaired, and again Louisa was able to persuade the Panel that there was no current impairment, bearing in mind the exceptional set of surrounding circumstances and the Registrant’s early admissions, apology, insight and remorse. The Panel agreed that the Registrant had remediated and addressed any misconduct, had demonstrated she is a safe practitioner, and that the risk of any future repetition was extremely low.

Therefore, no further action was taken against the Nurse, who has been described as an asset to the profession and is able to continue practising without restriction.

Louisa is regularly instructed in multi-day final hearings as well as Interim Orders, Reviews and Appeals, before regulatory bodies including the NMC and HCPC, for both the Registrant and the Regulator, and to advise on witness evidence, disclosure and case tactics pre-hearing. Louisa’s practice in the Employment Tribunals, as well as her experience before joining Chambers as a Presenting Officer and Case Manager with the HCPC mean she is well-placed to represent and advise individual registrants or employees, trade unions, regulators, employers and other organisations in relation to regulatory and disciplinary proceedings. For further information on Louisa’s practice, or to instruct her, please contact James Wackett, Senior Civil Clerk, Jonathan Cue, Senior Civil Clerk (Winchester) or Dean Cunniff, First Junior Civil Clerk on 020 7353 0711 or via email: clerks@pumpcourtchambers.com.