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10. DISCIPLINARY INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE 10.1 Preliminary Investigations into Clinical Incidents When a clinical incident occurs, e.g. a drug error, the incident must first be investigated in accordance with the Trust’s Incident Reporting and Investigation Policy. No disciplinary process will be commenced as a result of a patient safety related incident until at least the initial report of the investigation has been completed and agreed by the Head of Clinical Governance, Quality & Risk. To ensure a robust and consistent approach to investigating patient safety related incidents, the Trust must use the National Patient Safety Agency’s Incident Decision Tree (IDT). This can be found at: http://www.msnpsa.nhs.uk/idt2/(d5vvderjryty2f552oxkrr55)/index.aspx The Incident Decision Tree helps NHS managers and senior clinicians decide initial action to take with staff involved in a patient safety incident. It is intended to promote a consistent and fair approach, avoiding unnecessary and costly suspensions and exclusions. This process can be facilitated by the Head of Clinical Governance, Quality and Risk and / or Risk Manager in conjunction with the Lead Investigation Officer and Head of Nursing / Divisional Director. The view of the Trust is that disciplinary action should not form part of a response to an incident except in cases where one or more of the following apply: • Where in the view of the Trust, and / or any professional registration body, the actions causing the incident / arising from the incident were far removed from acceptable practice • Where there was intent to harm and / or criminal offence has taken place • Where there is failure to report an incident in which the member of staff was either involved or about which they were aware It is important that managers undertaking a clinical investigation adhere to the timescales for this process as set out in Appendix 6a on page 47 of the Incident Reporting and Investigation Policy to avoid any unnecessary delays should a disciplinary investigation need to commence. 10.2 Disciplinary Investigations into Employee Misconduct Where an employee’s conduct is called into question, the Commissioning Manager (usually grandparent manager of the employee) will appoint a manager to act as Investigating Officer who is independent to undertake a thorough investigation to establish the facts and to determine whether or not there is a case to answer. The Commissioning Manager will draft terms of reference for the investigation - see template in Appendix 1. The investigation should commence as soon as possible after the event and where practicable, be completed within 8 weeks. The Commissioning Manager will inform the employee in writing of the nature of the allegation and their right to be represented by a trade union representative or work colleague. The Investigating Officer will conduct the investigation and will normally interview the employee and relevant witnesses as part of this process. The employee and witnesses are entitled support / representation as detailed above. All relevant facts should be gathered promptly before memories of events fade. Statements should be taken from the employee and witnesses at the earliest opportunity, using Appendix 5. All statements should be signed and dated. Where an employee does not provide a statement for an investigation but is subsequently interviewed, the notes from the meeting will be used instead of the statement. Any physical evidence should be retained if reasonable to do so. Information provided by witnesses will be given in confidence and should be in good faith. As a result, the Page 6 of 30
employee under investigation must not discuss the content of witness statements with the individuals concerned, to avoid a breach of confidentiality. At the end of the investigation, the Investigating Officer will produce an investigation report for the Commissioning Manager, outlining the facts of the case and a chronology of the investigation. For the report template, see Appendix 2. The investigation report will be factual and will contain sufficient information for the Commissioning Manager to determine whether: • There is a case of (gross) misconduct that should be considered at a disciplinary hearing; • No further action is required • There are concerns about the employee’s health that should be referred to Occupational Health for further advice • There are serious concerns that should be referred to the appropriate professional registration body • There are concerns about capability that should be under the Performance Management Policy • There are other recommendations that need to be considered Based on the information contained in the investigation report, the Commissioning Manager will decide whether it is appropriate to refer the case to a disciplinary hearing. If there is no case to answer, the employee and their representative should be informed of this outcome immediately in writing. 10.3 Suspension If whilst the investigation is conducted, it is considered unwise to allow the employee to continue working, they may be suspended from work for as short a period as possible. Suspension does not constitute disciplinary action and does not imply guilt. The employee will receive full pay and will lose no rights whilst the investigation proceeds apart from in exceptional circumstances. Whilst suspending an employee is not disciplinary action and is action without prejudice, it may have a detrimental effect on the employee being suspended. Suspended employees have been known to experience symptoms of depression and their later rehabilitation to the workplace can be exceptionally difficult. Suspension should therefore only be used as a last resort and where there are alternatives to suspension, these should be considered. Alternatives include: • restricting the employees access to certain areas of work • temporary redeployment of the employee to a different work area • changing the work pattern e.g. changing from nights onto days • supervised practice Whilst each potential case is different and it is not possible to be prescriptive, suspension will usually be considered in the following cases: • violence has occurred or is likely to occur if action is not taken • extremely volatile situations • there is believed to be a genuine risk to the safety of staff, patients or visitors • allegations of assault • the employee appears to be incapable of carrying out their duties • other cases of potential gross misconduct • other circumstances where the employee’s continued presence would seriously impede the flow of work, or would prejudice an investigation A decision to suspend an employee will be made by an appropriate senior manager in conjunction with a senior member of the HR team and will be considered when determining the terms of reference for the investigation. The decision may also be made during the investigation if circumstances arise that indicate it is unwise to allow the employee to continue working. Page 7 of 30
Page 1 and 2: Disciplinary Policy / Version 4 Rat
Page 3 and 4: DISCIPLINARY POLICY & PROCEDURE 1.
Page 5: 8. GENERAL PRINCIPLES This policy a
Page 9 and 10: 10.6 Investigations into Allegation
Page 11 and 12: have a responsibility to ensure tha
Page 13 and 14: • Failure to comply with the Trus
Page 15 and 16: Representation Employees will have
Page 17 and 18: Appendix I INVESTIGATION OUTLINE -
Page 19 and 20: Section Headings: 1. Introduction E
Page 21 and 22: Appendix 4 Disciplinary Appeal Hear
Page 23 and 24: • Your statement should be writte
Page 25 and 26: Appendix 6 Disciplinary Process Flo
Page 27 and 28: 2.4 Inform the LCFS of any possible
Page 29 and 30: The LCFS will liaise with the Direc

disciplinary policy & procedure - West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS ...

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