27 October 2022
We recently concluded our public consultation on the revised complaints procedure which took place between July and September 2022. We are immensely grateful for the large number of very constructive comments we received.
As a result of the feedback, we have made substantial revisions to the new procedure. The most significant of these are:
As we have a much improved procedure, we have a duty to implement it for the benefit of all involved therefore we will bring it in straight away, whilst incrementally adding supplementary documents and enhancements over the coming days and weeks. The existing provisions for enabling access to complaints, such as interpreted calls/VRS, are adequate in the short term, but we agree they need to be enhanced quickly and we will get on with those at best speed. Enhancements include:
We will also introduce additional measures outside of the procedure to support how it operates:
The volume of responses makes it impractical to respond to each piece of feedback we received but we will publish a summary of comments and our response to them in due course.
We will continue to improve the procedure further (e.g. simplifying language), and amend the document on our website, provided that does not involve a fundamental change to the procedure. Any fundamental change proposals will be considered in the annual review mentioned above.
The Professional Conduct Complaints Procedure will therefore come into use from Tuesday 1st November 2022. To view the procedure, please see: www.nrcpd.org.uk/documents/pdfs/NRCPD-PC-Complaints-procedure-Nov-2022-final.pdf
In the interests of fairness, cases which are actively being considered by Case Examiners, Professional Conduct Complaints Committee or the Appeal Committee will continue under the old procedure until those stages conclude.
The Revised Code of Conduct was well-received generally but we have again simplified the text of the two changes in response to comment. The final version (which can be found here: www.nrcpd.org.uk/documents/pdfs/NRCPD-Code-of-Conduct-Nov-2023-final.pdf) will need to apply to everyone on the registers at the same time so we don't have a 'double standard'. Therefore the revised code will come in on 1 November 2023 and when registrants and regulated trainees renew or first register with us over the coming year, they will be asked to agree to the current Code and, from 1 November 2023, the revised Code of Conduct, as a condition of renewal and first registration.
If you have any questions about the above, please get in touch with us in BSL via VRS or in an email at: enquiries@nrcpd.org.uk.
With thanks,
NRCPD.