January-22-2015 in Healthcare Law, Regulatory & Administrative Law
CORU, Ireland’s multi-profession health and social care regulator, has been given the power to deal with complaints from members of the public in relation to certain registered social or health care professionals. Effective from 31 December 2014, this empowerment allows CORU to send complaints to a Committee of Inquiry to adjudicate on Fitness to Practise where it deems it necessary.
Currently, this only applies to Dietitians, Speech and Language Therapists, Social Workers and Radiographers and Radiation Therapists that have registered with CORU but it is believed that the regime will be extended to all health and social care professionals regulated by CORU.
New Codes of Professional Conduct and EthicsIntroduced by CORU
Codes of Professional Conduct and Ethics are being introduced for each of the 12 professions covering registered health and social care professionals regulated by CORU. Professionals will be measured against these standards in any Fitness to Practise complaint.
Codes for Dietitians, Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists were implemented in late 2014. Each Code sets out the standards of ethics, conduct and performance in respect of each of the above professions and includes
- Respecting the confidentiality of service users
- Using social media and social networking in a responsible manner
- Understanding the importance of obtaining informed consent.
Breaches of the codes by registered practitioners could be deemed to constitute professional misconduct and could lead to a disciplinary sanction being imposed following a Fitness to Practise Inquiry.
Fitness to Practise Procedures
Members of the public can raise concerns with CORU if they are unhappy with treatments, assessments or interventions received. Complaints may also be made about the behaviour or health of the registered professional if this might impact on the professional’s ability to do their job properly.
Once a complaint is received, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council can investigate and take action against the professional in question. The professional will be furnished with a copy of the complaint and afforded the right of reply. If a complaint is warranted, actions may include declaring the person unfit to practise.
A complaint will first be assessed by the Preliminary Proceedings Committee which will assess the complaint received and decide if the matter warrants further consideration.
If the Preliminary Proceedings Committee believes that further action is required, it will decide whether the complaint is suitable for mediation or refer it to a Committee of Inquiry.
If the matter requires further action and is not suitable for mediation, or there is no consent to mediation, the complaint will go before a Committee of Inquiry. This will be before a Professional Conduct Committee or a Health Committee, depending on the type of complaint.
The Professional Conduct Committee/Health Committee will decide on Fitness to Practise complaints and hearings will usually be held in public.
If a complaint is upheld at the Committee of Inquiry stage the following sanctions can be imposed:
- Admonishment or censure
- Attachment of conditions to registration, including restrictions on the practice of the designated profession by the professional in question
- Suspension of registration for a specified period
- Cancellation of the professional’s registration
- Prohibition from applying for the restoration of the registrant’s registration for a specified period.
As previously mentioned, the new regime currently only applies to certain professions registered with CORU. Although it will not yet apply to the other health and social care professionals regulated by CORU, complaints can nonetheless still be made in respect of those professionals to the HSE.
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