Complaints
Our main responsibility is to protect the public. We try to make sure that all the professionals on our Register abide by the relevant Code of Practice and thereby offer an appropriate standard of care.
If you are unhappy with the treatment you are given, or about the behaviour or health of a registrant, you should raise your concerns with us.
'Fitness to practise' involves more than just competence in a registrant's chosen profession. When we say that registrants are fit to practise, we also mean that they have the health and character, as well as the necessary skills and knowledge, to do their job safely and effectively. We also mean our registrants to act legally.
The type of complaints we can consider are whether a registrant's fitness to practise is impaired or affected by:
- their misconduct
- their lack of competence
- a conviction or caution for a criminal offence
- their physical or mental health
- a 'determination' (decision reached) by another healthcare regulator.
We can also consider allegations that an entry to the Register has been made incorrectly.
If you want to complain about a registrant, you need to write to us with your full name and address: the name, profession and work address of the registrant; and as much information as you can. You should write to:
Fitness to Practise
CAHSC
Gallipot Lodge
Upper Hartfield
East Sussex
TN7 4AL
We will then:
- write to tell you we have received your complaint
- write to the registrant to tell them that a complaint has been made against them
- carry out an investigation into your complaint
When we write to the registrant we must pass them a copy of your complaint (and any relevant documents) so that they know the detail of the complaint. If you are worried about this, let us know.
We will then pass all this information to a panel appointed by our Council. The panel will be made up of three people including a chairman, someone from the relevant profession and a lay member (someone who is not on our Register). The panel will consider the documents available to see whether we need to take any further action.
The panel will not reach a decision about whether the complaint is proven. They will only decide whether it raises an issue about fitness to practise. If they believe it does, they will refer the complaint to the Council's Fitness to Practise Committee with a recommendation that a hearing should be arranged. If the panel decides that the complaint does not need to be taken further, we will write to you and to the registrant to tell you. We cannot consider the same complaint twice.
If the Fitness to Practise Committee decides to hold a hearing, we will write to the registrant at least 28 days beforehand. The hearing will normally take place in London . We will let the registrant have a copy of the documents we will rely on. The registrant may attend and/or be represented at the hearing, but the hearing will proceed in the absence of the registrant or their representative. A representative does not need to be legally qualified, but cannot be a CAHSC Council member or employee.
The Fitness to Practise Committee may decide to place conditions on the registration of the registrant or to remove them from the register altogether. In either case, the registrant, their registration number and the decision reached will be made available to the public on this website.
