What is Fitness to Practise?
The University's Fitness to Practise procedure and regulations are outlined in the University Regulations at Regulation 36.
The Fitness to Practise regulations apply to all students registered on specific professional degrees, such as Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Teaching, Community Development, and Veterinary Medicine.
The Fitness to Practise is intened to protect the health and wellbeing of students and to ensure that they are appropriately prepared for entry to the profession and clearly understand and demonstrate professional behaviour.
The procedure also exists to ensure students on these courses comply with the requirements of the relevant professional bodies such as the General Medical Council, General Teaching Council for Scotland etc.
Examples of when a student may be investigated under the Fitness to Practise regulations include:
- inappropriate interactions with patients, clients, children or service users,
- concerns regarding students’ behaviour in the professional context (e.g. on placement),
- student's ill health or mental health issues that prevents the demonstration of standard professional competencies,
- substance misuse,
- being accused of a crime,
- or any other breach of their particular School’s Code of Professional Conduct and Fitness to Practise.
What is the School Fitness to Practise procedure?
There are two stages in the Fitness to Practise procedure;
i) the informal procedure; and
ii) the formal Procedure.
At all stages of the procedure, you should be given information in wiriting and sent details in advance of any meetings you are asked to attend, and given an explanation of the procedure and why it is takiing place.
You will be allowed to bring a supporter with you to the meetings. This could be a friend or family member or staff from the SRC Advice Centre.
Fitness to Practise informal procedure
The informal procedure is normally used by the University where a student is accused of a relatively minor breach of the Fitness to Practise regulations.
At this stage you will normally be invited to meet with either the School's Fitness to Practise Officer, your Course Convenor to the Head of School.
You should be given full details of the allegation and alleged breach in advance of any meeting with the University and will be given the opportunity at the meeting to present any defence or mitigating circumstance you have which you believe may have contributed to the behavoiur in question,
What are the possible outcomes of Fitness to Practise informal procedure?
Depending on what the informal resolution stage is decided you may be asked to attend a further meeting with the Fitness to Practise Officer.
Based on the outcome of the meeting you have with the School some outcomes include:
- You may be given certain conditions to meet by the University, such as a warning to refrain from or not to repeat unprofessional behaviour,
- You may be asked to agree to certain undertakings, such as being asked to write a reflective essay on the events which led to the investigation.
- You may be asked to seek welfare or medical treatment or advice or encouraged to seek support from student services.
Conclusion of the informal procedure - what are the next steps?
Aside from the outcomes listed above, if the University believe the alleged breach is more than a minor incident, or they discover additional concerns as part of the informal procedure they may escalate the case to the formal procedure and refer the student to the School Fitness to Practise Committee for investigation under the formal procedure.
Referral under the Code of Student Conduct
If you are being investigated under Fitness to Practise, you can also be referred to the Head of Student Conduct at the same time, where considered necessary. The Code of Student Conduct procedure is outlined here.
Student Conduct and Fitness to Practise investigation do not generally run concurrently. This essentially means that if you are accused of breaching both the University's Code of Studen Conduct and the Fitness to Practise regulations it is likely that there will firstly be a full investigation under the University's Code of Student Conduct and once this process is complete you could then be investgiated under the Fitness to Practise regulations.
Will the police be involved?
Where the University believes a criminal offence may have been committed, either on campus or off campus, it may report the matter to the police. The University may suspend proceedings under Fitness to Practise while any police investigation is ongoing.
I have been suspended - what is a temporary suspension of study?
The Head of School or Fitness to Practise Officer may decide to temporarily suspend you from your studies while the investigation is ongoing.
If you are suspended, you should be given written notice of the suspension and you also have the right to ask for a review of the decision every 20 working days.
Fitness to Practise formal procedure
The first stage of the formal procedure requires that the School's Fitness to Practise Officer will appoint an Investigating Officer who will then be asked to meet with you, request a written statement from you and any witnesses to the alleged behaviour and compile a report for the School within 20 working days of them being appointed.
That report will contain a recommendation that the School take one of the following 3 steps:
- That no breach of the Fitness to Practise regulations has taken place and no further action is required. OR
- That the matter should be referred back to and deal with under the informal procedure. OR
- That the student should be referred to a full Fitness to Practise panel hearing.
School Fitness to Practise Committee panel and hearing
Fitness to Practise hearings will take place before panel led by a Clerk or the Committee and a Committee Convenor.
You should be given at least 10 working days notice of the hearing in writing along with a copy of all the papers that will be considered on the day and can arrange to meet with the Clerk of the Committee to discuss in more detail how the meeting will operate on the day.
Documentation should include a list of the panel members, and copies of reports from the school or by the Fitness to practise Investigation Officer. You are also able to submit a statement together with any evidence you feel supports your case as part of the hearing.
We can help you prepare for the hearing and help you to provide a personal statement or help you gather relevant evidence for the hearing. This could include medical statements if you have been unwell, for example.
You will be allowed to bring a supporter with you to the hearing. This could be a friend or family member or staff from the SRC Advice Centre.
Interim Finding
The Committee may decide that the your fitness to practise is impaired and may reach an interim finding.
This is not the panel's final decision and is essentially an interim decision where they place conditions on you before deciding if you are "fit to practise" or not.
Some examples of interim findings include:
- Being suspended (or continuing with a suspension) from your programme of study for a defined period;
- You are permitted to continue with any conditions and will be formally reviewed;
- The Hearing will be reconvened after an appropriate time interval on one or more occasions to review the your case and to reach a final outcome.
What is the possible outcomes of the School Fitness to Practise Committee?
Once the hearing has taken place the Fitness to Practise panel can decide on appropriate measures at their disposal.
The following outcomes are open to the Committee following a Hearing:
a) You will receive no warning or sanction.
b) You receive a warning as there is evidence of misconduct but your fitness to practise is not impaired to a point requiring any further sanction.
c) You receive a sanction.
Undertaking – A promise given by you in writing to the Committee that there will not be a repeat of the circumstances or behaviour leading to the referral.
Undertaking and Conditions – A promise given by you in writing to the Committee that there will not be a repeat of the circumstances or behaviour leading to the referral and that they agree to the conditions or actions which may be imposed or applied. These include but are not limited to:
• remedial tuition; or
• repeat of specified part(s) of the programme of study; or
• increased supervision.
Suspension – This prevents you from continuing on their programme for a specified time and stops you from graduating at the expected time. During the period of suspension, you may undergo a medical assessment or medical treatment, or other form of remedy and thereafter be required to demonstrate fitness to practise to the satisfaction of the Fitness to Practise Officer.
Expulsion – The Committee can expel you from the programme if they consider this is appropriate for ensuring the protection of the patient, or client group, or the public. It is applied where your behaviour is fundamentally incompatible with continuing on a professional programme.
Is there an appeal procedure?
If you wish to appeal against any decision of the School Fitness to Practise Committee you may appeal to the Senate Fitness to Practise Appeals Committee in accordance with the procedure set out below.
If you are considering an appeal please get in touch with the SRC Advice Centre.
What should I do?
If you receive notification from the University that they are investigating you under the Fitness to Practise regulations you should contact the SRC Advice Centre as soon as possible as we will be able to provide you with support and advice on how you should proceed and can usually accompany you to any meetings or hearing(s) required.
We can help to go over any documentation together with you and help you to prepare in advance for any meetings and help prepare a written statement if you wish to create one.