Boasting expertise across a range of sectors, QEB Hollis Whiteman is the full package when it comes to representing the regulator and the professional as a case progresses through the legal system.
Overview
QEB Hollis Whiteman has been at the forefront of healthcare regulation for decades. We continue to appear regularly before all healthcare tribunals and we specialise in providing advice and representation at every stage of regulatory proceedings, from the initial investigation stage to appeals before the High Court. We have considerable experience in acting both for the regulatory bodies and for individual medical professionals and have undertaken some of the most high-profile cases in recent times.
Members advise, present and defend in some of the most complex, high-profile and sensitive cases brought on behalf of a wide range of regulatory bodies and appear regularly at the Medical Practitioners’ Tribunal Service, the General Dental Council, the General Optical Council, the Health and Care Professions Council, the General Chiropractic Council, the British Psychoanalytic Council, the General Pharmaceutical Council, the Hearing Aid Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, amongst others. Our prominence and expertise in the fields of General Crime and Public Law uniquely place us to deal with professional discipline cases as they so often progress into other arenas.
Our Experience
Our work has included: advising and appearing for doctors, dentists, nurses, chiropractors, osteopaths, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals facing disciplinary proceedings of any type and on appeal; advising and acting for regulators in Fitness to Practise Hearings (or their equivalent), Interim Orders Hearings, Review Hearings, Restoration Hearings, and Registration Appeals; appearing in the High Court in appeals pursuant to section 40 of the Medical Act, or the equivalent provision relating to other healthcare professions; appearing in Judicial Review proceedings or in the Supreme Court on behalf of healthcare regulators or individuals; advising regulators on the statutory interpretation of their rules; providing assistance to regulators drafting internal policies and professional guidance; and acting as counsel to the inquiry in the Mid Staffs Public Inquiry, the largest-ever examination of the NHS Healthcare system in the UK.
We continue to undertake regular criminal work and are extremely well placed to advise and provide representation where there is a regulatory and criminal interface. In an area of law where there appears to be an increasing appetite to attempt to apply criminal charges to what in the past would have been purely professional failures, the understanding of potential criminal liability is critical when advising in a regulatory context. We are similarly well placed when our regulatory work crosses into the Public Law domain; our experience of Judicial Review and inquiries and inquests make us a popular choice to deal with regulatory proceedings that are likely to progress into other forums.
Of particular significance is our work for the Professional Standards Authority. It is by providing regular advice at the highest level for the Authority (who in turn review the work of all healthcare regulatory bodies) that we retain unparalleled knowledge and insight into the world of Healthcare Regulation; we are always fully informed of any changes to law and procedure.
A number of senior members of Chambers act as legal assessors for a variety of healthcare regulators. Several of our Junior Members have undertaken secondments with regulators and the firms who represent them, which provides those Junior Members with the experience and foundation to undertake representative work.
We are often invited to speak on key issues in Healthcare Regulation. We organise regular seminars in Chambers, and provide specialist training to regulators and legal firms when requested.
