We usually hold Fitness to Practise Panel Impairment hearings at Compass House, in Dundee. They are formal proceedings and are normally in public.
Hearings may be in private where the alleged impairment relates to the registered worker's physical or mental health or to protect vulnerable witnesses or people who use social services. The Chair of the panel will make the decision to hear the case in private in advance at the case management meeting.
Hearings coming up
- Hearings are publicised on our website seven working days before the hearing is due to take place.
- We will not notify the media of the hearings in any other way.
- Media interested in attending a hearing should let our media contact know.
- Members of the media or public cannot come to hearings held in private.
Temporary Orders
- Hearings about Temporary Orders (temporary suspension and temporary conditions) are in private and there is no advance publicity.
- We publish Temporary Orders imposed on our website shortly after the hearing and remove it when it is no longer in effect.
Attending a hearing
- On the day of the hearing members of the media need to arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start of the hearing.
- All media must sign in at reception in Compass House.
- No photography or recording is allowed on our premises.
- Members of the media will not be able to interview those taking part in the hearing on our premises. Any interviews arranged are at the discretion of the parties involved.
- Media must always abide by the rules set down by the Chair of the Fitness to Practise Panel. For example, if the Chair decides that part of the hearing should be in private this should be respected.
- At no time should the media interject or engage in discussion during a hearing.
Decisions
- We will post the result of a hearing on the SSSC website within 14 working days of the decision. We will not inform the media in any other way.
- The registered worker has the right of appeal to the Sheriff Court.
We will post all the information we can provide on our website only. We will be happy to help with any other press enquiries. Our Public Information Policy has more information about how we communicate information about hearings and decisions on our website.