Cathryn speaks to three people who help make the Buddy Scheme at NMCWatch a functioning, unique and extraordinary service.

They talk about why the scheme is so necessary. How it helps nurses and midwives get through FTP and how it helps the Buddies themselves move on from their own FTP experiences - therapy for the therapists, you might say.

So, have a listen, and if it moves you to want to become a Buddy, do get in touch with us as we’re always looking for more people to join us.

https://nmcwatch.org.uk/buddy-hold-my-hand/

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Our panel of experts sat down to discuss the new NMC policy of Agreed Removal, replacing Voluntary Removal.

Cathryn Watters is NMCWatch's Founder and CEO.

Pat Dwan is NMCWatch's CiC committee chair.

Simon Holborn is our Director of FtP and HR lead.

Trish is one of our NMCWatch Group admins and has her own FtP experience.

Read more:

https://www.nmc.org.uk/ftp-library/case-management/agreed-removal/how-does-the-agreed-removal-process-work/

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Ian Hynes has over 40 years of international investigative experience, and is a world-leading expert and an award-winning practitioner of investigation, particularly the ‘science of investigative interviewing’. 

He was the Strategic Investigation Interview Manager for a major UK police force for 12 years until August 2014 during which time he authored investigation policy, developed practice, and had responsibility for competencies and standards, reviewing investigations globally. His investigation strategies and tactics have withstood challenge and scrutiny from the highest courts in the UK and beyond. A number of those strategies concerned serious criminality and misconduct in healthcare settings.

It was during this time that his interest in FTP investigation was ‘piqued’, observing first-hand serious miscarriages of justice both criminally and civilly, alongside plummeting investigation standards.

Driven by those experiences, in 2014 Ian founded Intersol Global, a company with a clear philosophy and values that recognise just how poor investigation practice can destroy lives, livelihoods, and careers. With his team, he set about applying investigation standards and competencies that were relevant and proportionate to the civil sector, including FTP investigation.

Intersol Global are now a team of over 40 of the most qualified and experienced civil investigators in the UK and train, qualify, advise, and conduct workplace discipline investigation across several sectors, including healthcare. Recognising that FTP panels make decisions based entirely on meaningful reliable detail and accuracy, they developed and deliver the only externally regulated qualification in the world to conduct workplace investigation meetings (investigative interviewing).

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Paul Turner qualified as a mental health nurse in 1987 and went on to specialise in the treatment of people with alcohol problems. After leaving the NHS in 2003 to focus on a non-health-related business, Paul did a Return to Practice Course in 2014 in order to get back to treating people for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) privately. In large parts of the UK, people find it very difficult to find suitable and effective help for this disorder and over 8000 people a year die from it. Few resources are made available, leaving a gap which Paul aims to fill.

In 2016, an NHS nurse discovered that Paul and his nurse prescriber colleague had been treating a patient with an alcohol home detox and decided that they shouldn't have been doing this. She referred them both to the NMC, stating that they were 'working outside their remit.' She made no effort to contact either of them and, even now, Paul has never had a conversation with the nurse. Her referral was full of evidence of her own shortcomings with regard to her knowledge of this area of practice. She even admitted to the NMC that she had never conducted an alcohol detox, despite being employed as an alcohol specialist nurse.

The NMC regarded the allegations as serious and Paul and his colleague had to attend Interim Order Hearings where they both received a 'no interim order'. A year later, after very little had been done in terms of an investigation, they were both given a 'no case to answer' verdict. Along the way were some strange events, including Paul being asked by the NMC to find an alcohol expert who could advise them regarding his own case about the work he was doing.

Since the FtP process, Paul’s colleague has stopped working independently due to the trauma of what happened. Although Paul has built a working relationship with a private GP and also become qualified to prescribe himself, he still suffers from anxiety and stress.

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Barbara was 63 years old when she was first referred to the NMC. The allegation was sexual assault, the referrer also contacted the police. The alleged incident occurred in 2018 and while the police dropped the case after 3 weeks, the NMC took 33 months.

Finally, after ten days of hearings spread over seven months, including many adjournments, the NMC produced an application to withdraw the case through lack of evidence. While it was a huge relief to Barbara to have the case closed, it showed us, once again, about the conduct of the NMC legal team and the need for better transparency around evidence.

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