The Professional Conduct Committee recently considered a Conditions of Practice Order made in June last year against a chiropractor who had acknowledged making inappropriate comments towards a patient.
03.07.24 Fitness to Practice
When a chiropractor is found by the Professional Conduct Committee (the PCC) to be guilty of unacceptable professional conduct (UPC), the committee will then consider the sanction to impose on the chiropractor. There are four sanctions that the PCC can consider:
A Conditions of Practice Order is imposed to protect patients from harm, while allowing the chiropractor to put right any shortcomings in their practice which led to the finding of UPC in the first place. In most cases the PCC will request a review of the order prior to its expiry to consider if the order needs to be extended.
Read more on the sanctions available
During the original case a chiropractor admitted unprofessional conduct in relation to making inappropriate comments towards a patient in breach of a number of standards within the Code.
The chiropractor was given a twelve-month conditions of practice order requiring them (amongst other things) to
At the review hearing, the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) noted the chiropractor had engaged fully with the Conditions of Practice Order and had a commendable level of insight into his past misconduct and the actions necessary to reflect and change his practice.
The PCC found that the chiropractor had submitted a Personal Development Plan and certificates to demonstrate completion of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and had spent a considerable length of time working with a mentor from within the profession. The PCC also noted that he had completed CPD above and beyond the requirements of the order, and his mentor had written a very positive report verifying that she had witnessed significant improvements.
The PCC agreed that there was now no longer any real risk of repetition of breach of professional boundaries by the chiropractor and that he does not pose any threat to the wider public interest. As such, the PCC revoked the order with immediate effect.
The primary purpose of the Fitness to Practise process is to protect patients. While some may see it as a mechanism to punish the chiropractor, this is not the purpose – and this case illustrates how engaging with the process fully can benefit both the individual and the profession.
In this case, even at the original PCC hearing, the PCC took note of the attitude of the chiropractor in taking responsibility for his actions and the steps that he had taken to learn from the complaint.
Although found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct, the chiropractor used the opportunity afforded to him by the Conditions of Practice order to continue to advance their practice, fully understand their behaviour, work with their mentor and develop their professionalism.
The PCC commended the level of insight into the past misconduct, and considered that the chiropractor had reflected fully on the issues and fully embedded his learning. The PCC agreed that the chiropractor had indicated a genuine desire to learn and improve his practice, and responded by revoking the order and allowing him to return to unrestricted practice.
Both the Guidance on Sanctions (April 2018); and the Conditions Bank (April 2018) which sets out suggested wording for Conditions of Practice Orders, are available on the publications page.