Disciplinary proceedings brought by the General Medical Council (GMC), the General Dental Council (GDC) or the NMCouncil (NMC) are a serious matter. They can threaten, disrupt or even curtail a career. Without a defence or trade union supporting you, facing such proceedings can be a daunting task. We have specialist direct access Barristers experienced in all aspects of professional discipline affecting doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives.
Clients describe our barristers as “a go-to set for medical professionals who are facing disciplinary action. The barristers consistently achieve excellent results for clients in investigations and proceedings involving the PSA, GMC, GDC, RCVS and other regulators.” (Chambers & Partners 2021)
Professionals such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, police officers and others are required to adhere to codes of conduct set by their professional regulatory body like the General Medical Council (GMC). Failure to meet these standards through inappropriate behaviour such as committing fraud, sexual relationships, incompetancy etc which can lead to suspension or being struck off the register. During investigations and at disciplinary hearings it can be helpful to have legal advice and representation.
We predominantly represent medical professionals including doctors, dentists, midwives and nurses.
Not necessarily but there is normally a disciplinary hearing before the General Medical Council (GMC), General Dental Council (GDC) but decisions can be appealed to the First Tier and Upper Tribunals as well as the High Court. We are also able to advise you during the investigation into your conduct, for example NHS investigations and Medical Practitioners Tribunal Fitness to Practise investigations.
Without a defence or trade union to support you, facing the disruption or even end of your careers can be a daunting task. Our barristers bring their extensive experience in medical negligence claims and inquests, understanding of the unique requirements of your profession and extensive experience appearing at hearings when representing you.
Direct Access, also known as Public Access, allows you to directly instruct a barrister to act on your behalf, without using a solicitor or intermediary as is traditional. You are managing your case. However, not all cases are suitable for direct access and only barristers specifically trained to accept direct access instruction can assist you. Meet our trained barristers here.
We use a 4 step process outlining how you can instruct a barrister directly: Enquire, Discuss, Confirm, Instruct. Each stage is designed so we can make sure your case is suitable for direct access. It enables our clerks to find the right barrister, at the right price, for the right time just for you. Read more about the process here.
Each case is different and some cases are not suitable for direct access instruction. For this area Clients using legal aid are not suitable for Direct Access so should instruct us using a solicitor.
Some cases require more day to day management so are not suitable for direct access. In this case, we will not progress beyond the Enquiry stage of our process but you can instruct us using a solicitor.
Costs vary depending on what your case needs: the work required, length of time and seniority of barrister. Fees can be a fixed amount for agreed upon work or an hourly rate with a set limit so you don’t go over an agreed upon budget. Generally speaking, the more work involved/longer the case will take/more senior (and thus experienced) the barrister, the higher the cost is likely to be.
More information can be found here.
Upon receiving this enquiry form a Public Access Clerk will contact you to discuss your case in further detail. Please see our 4 steps outlining the process of instructing a Direct Access Barrister.
1. Submit an enquiry
Fill out our form, designed to collect as much information as possible about your case.
2. Speak to a clerk
After carefully reviewing your form, a specially trained Clerk will get in touch to confirm if your case is suitable for one of our Direct Access Barristers.
3. Receive a client care pack
Once our Direct Access Barrister has agreed in principle to represent you, you will be sent a ‘client care letter’.
4. Instructing a Barrister
If you want to go ahead after agreeing to your client care letter, it’s time to instruct your Direct Access Barrister. Download a PDF of this process here.
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