The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7357 p37
9 July 2005

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Indicative sanctions guidance
   CHRE PDF (70K)
   Royal Pharmaceutical Sociey PDF (50K)

CHRE drafting guidance on sanctions to be imposed by regulators of health professions

Guidance on sanctions that should be imposed by regulators when health professionals fall short of expected standards is being prepared by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence. Draft guidance was considered by the CHRE on 5 July.

The draft guidance is currently in the form of a template for use by individual regulators to draw up their own specific guidance.

The template suggests that removal from professional registers is likely to be appropriate when behaviour has been “fundamentally incompatible with being a registered professional” and involves any of seven offences. The list, which is not intended to be exhaustive, includes:

· Serious departure from specified professional standards
· Doing serious harm either deliberately or through incompetence
· Abuse of position, trust or violation of patients’ rights
· Sexual offences, including involvement in child pornography
· Offences involving violence
· Dishonesty
· Persistent lack of insight into the seriousness of actions or consequences

It also suggests that an unspecified minimum period should elapse in all cases before restoration applications can be made.

The template outlines the circumstances in which a range of other sanctions could be considered, depending on what options are open to each individual regulator. Possible sanctions include suspension from the register, conditional registration and the accepting of written undertakings from the registrant in question. The circumstances in which reprimands, warnings, admonishments or cautions could be given are also considered. In general, it suggests that such sanctions should only be imposed where fitness to practise has been impaired but continuing practice rights pose no risk to the public or patients.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Statutory Committee adopted its own indicative sanctions guidance in October last year. The guidance was endorsed by the Society’s Council last December.

David Gomez, legal adviser at the Society, said: “The guidance was developed in accordance with current good practice and with similar guidance being created by other health care regulators and the CHRE and will be reviewed when appropriate.”

Mr Gomez added: “The Society supports the development by the CHRE of a template for indicative sanctions guidance for those health care regulators who do not yet have such a document in place. Openness and transparency are essential features of any fitness-to-practise proceedings.”