In an article out yesterday in the Nursing Times, the NMC have raised they are considering the use of person experience statements to show them what the effect of the allegations has had on the patient / relative / referrer. This will in turn assist the FtP teams in deciding on the correct course of action. The article states that there is a lot of work to be done in order to implement this but we have concerns:

1) Will the statements be gathered on ALL cases?

2) Will the statements be disclosed to the nurse /midwife and disclosed at point of gathering them?

3) Will ALL statements be presented to the panels and not just those that strengthen the NMC case against the nurse / midwife

4) How will the teams assess genuine concerns against vexatious or confused statements resulting from not being happy with care options eg in mental health services

5) How will the panel be able to maintain objectivity if statements are used?

6) FtP is supposed, by NMC own's admissions, be used to assess FUTURE risk and not punish the nurse /midwife for past mistakes...