Ibrahim, R (on the application of) v The Nursing and Midwifery Council
[2024] EWHC 2991 (Admin)
XY v Nursing and Midwifery Council
30 August 2024
[2024] EWHC 2244 (Admin)
High Court
A nurse was suspended from practicing because of a mental health condition that might return. She appealed, but the court agreed with the decision to suspend her because there was a risk to patients if she returned to work without treatment.
Key Facts
- •Appeal against a Fitness to Practise Committee (FTPC) decision of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) suspending the Appellant's nursing license for 12 months due to impaired fitness to practice based on her health.
- •The Appellant, a nurse, had a history of Acute and Transient Psychotic Disorder (ATPD).
- •The FTPC based its decision on a consultant psychiatrist's report indicating a risk of relapse due to the Appellant's lack of insight and refusal of treatment.
- •The Appellant appealed on 16 grounds, both procedural and substantive.
- •The court considered challenges to the NMC's jurisdiction, the FTPC's findings of fact, the finding of impaired fitness, the suspension order, and the procedural fairness of the hearing.
Legal Principles
The appeal is not a de novo hearing but neither is it confined to a point of law. The court can exercise its own judgment on the evidence but will not interfere unless persuaded the decision was wrong. Special weight is given to the professional body's judgment on professional practice and risk to patients.
Cheatle v General Medical Council [2009] EWHC 645 Admin, §§12-15
The NMC is empowered to consider allegations that a registrant's fitness to practice is impaired by their health.
Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001, Article 22(1)(a)(iv)
Registrants are expected to engage with the regulatory process and cannot frustrate it by absenting themselves.
GMC v Adeogba [2016] EWCA Civ 162, [2016] 1 WLR 3867, §§19-20
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The court found no errors in the FTPC's decision. The FTPC's reasoning was carefully considered and supported by the evidence. The Appellant's procedural complaints were rejected.
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