Professional Services Unit

About PSU

Our Professional Services Unit (PSU) team provides highly specialised advice, representation and support to members who are being investigated by their regulator for their fitness to practise.

If you have been referred by your regulator, the first step is to contact your branch. Once your case has been referred to the PSU, your case will be triaged by a member of the team; we will contact you by email to arrange a discussion to get an overview of the case either by phone or teams.

Following the triage call, you’ll be assigned a case officer who will explain the process in full for your regulator to you, including any possible outcomes. They will manage the entire process and help you prepare all the documents and evidence to achieve the best possible outcome for your case. For more details, see our Fitness to Practice (FTP) flowchart below.

Even if a member has made a mistake, we don’t judge – that’s not our job. But it is important to be honest with your case officer. It can make the situation worse if you do not tell us, as we rely on the information to give you the best possible advice. So if we do not know things, then this could affect our advice to you, the outcome of your case and ultimately our continued representation of your case.

PSU case officer

Your PSU case officer will discuss your case and next steps with you, but until your case is allocated and the discussion has taken place you may find the below helpful to get you started.

Reflection

This is your chance to get your version of the events and explain what happened across and show the regulator you have an understanding of what went wrong. You can use the Gibbs Reflective Cycle for guidance. 

It is very important you do not use artificial intelligence (Chat GPT or similar) to write this. It needs to be in your own words. You may be questioned about your reflection by your regulator, and if this is not in your own words it can affect your recall of events, leading to the regulatory questioning whether you wrote it, which could lead to a dishonesty allegation.

Character testimonials

Please consider who might be able to provide testimonials/statements about your character. These are people who are not witnesses to the alleged events, but people who know you well who can speak for your character. These can be colleagues (past or present), friends or family members, etc. These should be people who know about the allegations being investigated and can:

• confirm any mitigating circumstances;
• vouch for your skills, ability, and dedication to your profession;
• confirm your training or practice at work since the events; and
• testify to your character and integrity.

There may also be people who are witnesses to the alleged event, who can speak on your behalf, and it is important that you get their full names and contact details, including email addresses and mobile phone numbers.

The character or witness statements must be upstanding members of the community and can include past or present work colleagues, friends, family members, etc.

CPD or training courses relevant to the concerns/allegations

Your case officer may make recommendations, but you are looking to (whether you accept or deny the allegations) complete relevant training. As a registered professional, it is always best to pause, and take the opportunity to make sure your knowledge and skills are absolutely up to date.

Cases relating to your health

If your regulator is treating your case as a health-related one, then there are other documents that might be useful:

• Health Log (downloadable link)
• Letters or relevant documents from healthcare professionals
• Timeline