Maree Allison Fitness to Practise Manager

1. Maree AllisonFitness to Practise Manager

2. MOVING TOWARDS A FITNESS TO PRACTISE MODEL

3. PART 1 BRIEF OVERVIEW OF REGISTRATION

4. About the Register • Registration commenced in April 2003 • There are 21 different parts of the Register • There are currently over 75,000 registrants and nearly 9,000 applicants • A further 60,000 - 80,000 expected to Register over the next five years

5. Future Dates for Mandatory Registration All workers new into their role are required to be registered within six months of starting in the new post, if their part of the Register is open. This includes workers in posts in the above categories where registration is not yet mandatory.

6. Who is responsible for Registration? • Employers are responsible for ensuring they are employing registered workers – it can take up to 60 days to process an application for registration. It can take longer if the application is referred to Fitness to Practise. • As part of an inspection of a care service, the Care Inspectorate are checking the registration status of staff • Workers are responsible for maintaining their registration, including achieving qualifications

7. MySSSC Fitness to Practise Department hoping to develop MySSSC next year so that workers/employers can receive updates on the progress of a case and provide and receive documents online.

8. PART 2 FITNESS TO PRACTISE DEPARTMENT What we currently do

9. Decide on suitability for registration: Phrase “good character, competence or conduct” comes from our founding legislation Phrase “misconduct” comes from the Rules that set out how we register people.

10. What does “decide on suitability for registration” mean?

11. APPLICANTS FOR REGISTRATION

12. Examples of applicant cases • Patterns of offending, even if a long time ago • Serious offences such as violence • Offences resulting in serious penalties such as imprisonment • Disciplinaries within last 5 years. Majority of applicants will be registered at conclusion of the case, often with a condition on their registration. Examples of cases where registration is refused: • Recent violent behaviour • Pattern of serious offending which only stopped recently • Serious recent dishonesty

13. REGISTERED WORKERS

14. Examples of registered worker cases • Charged by the police with an offence • Disciplined at work for failing to answer resident’s buzzer • Dismissed for entering into a sexual relationship with service users • Bullying behaviour towards colleagues • Suspended for being under the influence of alcohol at work No formal action will be taken in the majority of cases. Examples of cases where the worker is removed from the register: • Verbally abusive behaviour towards service users • Failing to visit service users • Financial dishonesty

15. STATISTICS • Approx 2% of workers on the register become a Fitness to Practise case every year • Approx 5% of workers who apply for registration become a Fitness to Practise case • This year, on target to receive 1297 cases about registered workers and 1107 cases about applicants for registration • 25% of cases result in formal action (warning/condition removal from register/refusal of application for registration)

16. WHAT DOES CONDUCT/ MISCONDUCT MEAN? • For applicants they must be of good character, competence and conduct • For registered workers, we may take formal action if they have committed misconduct Conduct = behaviour which meets the standards of conduct and practice expected of social service workers as laid down in the Code of Practice for social service workers Misconduct = Behaviour, whether by act or omission, which falls short of the standard of conduct expected of a person registered with the SSSC having particular regard to the Code of Practice for Social Service Workers issued by the Council under section 53(1)(a) of the Act and the Registration Rules.

17. For registered workers we class as misconduct: • Sexual abuse of a service user • Assault of a spouse • Mistake in administering medication • Putting a child at risk due to mental illness

18. SSSC WEBSITE

19. PART 3 FITNESS TO PRACTISE MODEL: How is it different?

20. WHAT IS FITNESS TO PRACTISE? Care Council Wales: Fitness to practise considers whether the Registrant has the skills, knowledge and character to practise their profession safely and effectively. This includes: • Professional performance • Acts which may have an impact on public protection • Acts which may impact on the confidence of the public in the profession or the regulatory process.

21. WHAT WILL IT MEAN FOR THOSE APPLYING FOR REGISTRATION • SSSC will still consider character, conduct and competence • Employers will still endorse applications for registration • Applicants and employers will be asked to declare that the worker is “fit to practise”. • Applicants will be expected to declare any health or other issues that affect their fitness to practise

22. WHAT WILL IT MEAN FOR REGISTERED WORKERS? • Employers will have slightly amended obligations to refer cases to the SSSC - they be required to make a referral where they think Fitness to Practise may be impaired. • SSSC will no longer investigate all cases under the label of ‘misconduct’ • Will look at whether Fitness to Practise has been impaired by reason of: • Misconduct • Competence • Health

23. SO WHAT? • Change the relationship workers have with the SSSC as their regulatory body • Instead of investigations and decisions by the SSSC being something done to them, workers will take responsibility for their own fitness to practise • Fairer to the worker, as issues which affect the safety of service users can be dealt with without having to label the worker as having committed ‘misconduct’.

24. CASE EXAMPLES Example 1: We received a report from an employer that one of their workers was suffering from mental illness and had taken an overdose whilst at home alone with their young child. Is this something that could affect service user safety/reputation of the profession? Green card = yes/ Red card = no Does this fall under misconduct, competence or health? Green card = misconduct Yellow card = competence Red card = health

25. CASE EXAMPLES Example 2: An employer disciplined a worker for three failures to properly record medication administration. Is this something that could affect service user safety/reputation of the profession? Green card = yes/ Red card = no Does this fall under misconduct, competence or health? Green card = misconduct Yellow card = competence Red card = health

26. CASE EXAMPLES Example 3: An applicant for registration declared two previous convictions for drink driving. Is this something that could affect service user safety/reputation of the profession? Green card = yes/ Red card = no Does this fall under misconduct, competence or health? Green card = misconduct Yellow card = competence Red card = health

27. CASE EXAMPLES Example 4: An employer told us that they had received a telephone call from one of their workers to say that he had been arrested by the police and then sectioned. Is this something that could affect service user safety/reputation of the profession? Green card = yes/ Red card = no Does this fall under misconduct, competence or health? Green card = misconduct Yellow card = competence Red card = health

28. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? • Codes of Practice will be reviewed • New Rules will be drafted • New guidance for employers about what to refer and when to refer it will be drafted • Consultation with stakeholders will take place • Timetable for commencement - 2016

29. Contact the SSSC The Scottish Social Services Council Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY Telephone: - 0845 60 30 891 registration@sssc.uk.com www.sssc.uk.com