Earlier this month, the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Education Sligo, Leitrim and West Cavan held an education session to discuss a range of topics including, human factors in healthcare, legal issues in nursing and midwifery, and the Fitness to Practise (FTP) process.  

As part of the session, Niamh McDonald and Jeanne Tarrant from our Fitness to Practise Department provided an overview of the FTP process with case studies.  

Niamh spoke about our commitment to provide a compassionate approach for everyone involved in the FTP process. She shared data on the numbers of complaints received by NMBI over the past five years and supports available. Jeanne referred to several case studies and our team were happy to answer questions from participants.

The event was organised by Teresa Donnelly, Director CNME SLWC and Michelle Donnelly Interim Director of Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Unit North West (NMPDU, NW)  

Attendees also heard from Maura Heffernan, Director of Nursing SUH; John McElhinney, Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Manager, SAOLTA and Mary Durkin, ADON SUH.

NMBI’s Compassion Project

Our FTP Department has been working hard to implement the Compassion Project and we have been speaking with our nursing and midwifery colleagues to explain the process.

Last year, NMBI launched an emotional support service for everyone involved in the fitness to practise process. The support service is provided in collaboration with CiC, a leading Employee Assistance Programme provider. This is a freephone service, available 24/7, that enables those involved to speak with a qualified counsellor about any aspect of the FTP procedure. Our aim is to ensure that people have a safe place to share any concerns they have about the process.

Details on how to access the support service, as well as details of other organisations and agencies in Ireland that can provide advocacy or support services, can be found on our website.