An HCPC concern is not a finding. The response you give now shapes everything that follows.
Specialist defence for paramedics, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers, dietitians and every other HCPC-registered profession. Early, evidenced responses close cases.
We respond within 1 hour during business hours. All enquiries strictly confidential.
- Strictly confidential
- No obligation
- SRA regulated
- Rated 5.0 from 42 reviews
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Tell us your profession and what you have received.
HCPC fitness to practise — the key facts
The Health and Care Professions Council regulates fifteen professions across the United Kingdom. It can caution you, impose conditions of practice, suspend your registration, or strike you from the register. Its statutory purpose is protection of the public rather than punishment.
- Your union or indemnity may fund your own solicitorMany union memberships and professional indemnity policies allow you to instruct a solicitor of your own choosing. You are not obliged to accept the representative allocated to you. We will review your cover at no obligation.
- Interim orders can stop you working immediatelyThe HCPC can apply for an interim suspension or conditions of practice order while the investigation continues, before any findings are made. These are listed at short notice.
- Not every concern meets the thresholdThe Investigating Panel considers whether there is a realistic prospect of a finding of impairment. Many concerns do not clear that bar, and a properly argued response is how that is demonstrated.
- The standard of proof is the civil oneThe balance of probabilities, not beyond reasonable doubt. A lower threshold than most registrants expect.
- Insight and remediation carry real weightThe HCPTS looks closely at whether conduct is remediable, whether it has been remedied, and whether you have shown genuine insight. This is where cases are won.
Most of the work that decides an HCPC case happens before any hearing
A concern is assessed against the standard of acceptance, then investigated, then put to an Investigating Panel which decides whether there is a case to answer.
You are invited to respond in writing before that panel meets. That document is the most important one in the process, and it is the one registrants most often write alone, at speed, and without knowing what the panel is actually testing. Getting it right is what keeps a case away from the HCPTS entirely.
Tell us what you have received. Nothing you say goes any further.
Many union and indemnity policies fund a solicitor of your choosing. We review your cover at no obligation.
Evidence-led, framed around the realistic prospect test, with reflective and remedial material properly presented.
Interim order hearings at short notice, and full representation at any HCPTS final hearing.
From concern to Investigating Panel
Concerns reach the HCPC from employers, patients and service users, the police, other regulators and self-referrals. The concern is first assessed against the standard of acceptance, then investigated, and then placed before an Investigating Panel.
That panel asks a single question: is there a realistic prospect that a panel would find your fitness to practise impaired. If the answer is no, the case closes there. Your written response is your opportunity to show exactly that.
Interim orders
Where public protection requires it, the HCPC can apply for an interim conditions of practice order or interim suspension while the investigation runs. These hearings are often listed at short notice and the effect on your ability to work is immediate.
If one has been listed, say so when you contact us. We attend at short notice and argue for the least restrictive order, or none.
What the HCPTS considers at a final hearing
A panel considers whether the facts are proved, whether they amount to impaired fitness to practise, and what sanction is appropriate. The civil standard applies to the facts.
The factors that move the outcome are the seriousness of the conduct, whether it is remediable, whether it has been remedied, the insight demonstrated, your history and the risk of repetition. Sanctions run from no action and caution through conditions of practice and suspension to striking off.
The professions and concerns we act on
We represent registrants across the HCPC's professions, including paramedics, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers, biomedical scientists, dietitians, practitioner psychologists, speech and language therapists and podiatrists.
Concerns commonly involve clinical competence and errors, record keeping and documentation, medicines and controlled drugs, professional boundaries and conduct towards service users, communication and attitude allegations, social media conduct, health and dependency, and criminal convictions or cautions.
The Investigating Panel asks whether there is a realistic prospect of a finding. Answering that question properly, in writing, is how cases end early.
Lostock Legal SolicitorsWhat we do on your case
- Review your union or indemnity cover and advise whether your costs can be met — at no obligation
- Draft a full response framed around the realistic prospect test
- Help you produce genuine reflective and remedial evidence, not boilerplate
- Attend interim order hearings at short notice and argue for the least restrictive outcome
- Challenge the evidence relied on and instruct independent experts where needed
- Represent you at any HCPTS final hearing and cross-examine witnesses
- Build mitigation on insight, remediation, good character and clinical context
- Advise on appeal where a sanction is disproportionate
We respond within 1 hour during business hours. All enquiries strictly confidential.
The practical reasons this goes better with us
Beyond the specialism, two things change the economics of defending a case like this.
Our own in-house advocates
We represent you at every stage ourselves, including in the Crown Court, rather than briefing out to counsel. That keeps your costs down and means the person who knows your case is the person who argues it.
Privately funded, by design
We are not a legal aid practice carrying a heavy caseload to stay afloat. Your matter gets the time a specialist defence actually needs.
Specialist, not general practice
Criminal defence and regulatory work is what we do. Not one department among a dozen.
Where HCPC concerns come from
The route a concern takes shapes the right response. These are the categories we see most often.
Clinical competence
Concerns about practice standards, frequently referred after an employer investigation.
Record keeping
Documentation failings, which are common and usually highly remediable.
Medicines and controlled drugs
Administration, storage and record allegations, treated seriously.
Professional boundaries
Conduct towards service users, including alleged inappropriate relationships.
Convictions and cautions
Criminal matters must be declared and carry regulatory consequences of their own.
Health and dependency
Where impairment is said to arise from a health condition rather than conduct.
The solicitor who will prepare your response
Alexander
Director · Solicitor · Higher Court Advocate
- Director of the firm
- Qualified Solicitor
- Higher Court Advocate
- Crown Court jury trial advocate
Alexander is a Director of the firm, a qualified Solicitor and Higher Court Advocate. For many years he was an advocate in the Crown Court, acting for clients in jury trials, and he has acted in some of the most serious cases there are.
Regulatory proceedings turn on evidence, procedure and the quality of the written case put to a decision-maker. That is the discipline Alexander has spent his career in, and it transfers directly to fitness to practise work.
He also understands the value of being approachable. He takes the time to explain each stage, so that the process itself stops being one more thing to worry about.
Talk to us today. No obligation.
Whether you have had a letter, been asked to respond, or have an interim order hearing listed — the earlier we are involved, the more can be done.
- Strictly confidential — nothing leaves our office without your authority
- No obligation to instruct us
- You speak to a specialist solicitor, not a call handler
- We respond within 1 hour during business hours
Phone 0161 383 8855
Email admin@lostocklegal.com
Address Office 6, First Floor, St Thomas House, 18 St Thomas Road, Chorley PR7 1HR
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Rated 5.0 from 42 reviews
★★★★★
Incredibly professional and very helpful in answering all my questions.
Umar N. · Google review
★★★★★
He went out of his way to ensure I was well informed and updated throughout, clearly explaining every step.
Rory M. · Google review
★★★★★
Super supportive throughout the whole process. I can't thank these guys enough.
George S. · Google review
HCPC investigations FAQ
Can I choose my own solicitor?
Often, yes. Many union memberships and professional indemnity policies allow you to instruct a solicitor of your own choosing, with the cost of representation met by the provider. We will review your cover and advise you at no obligation.
Can the case be closed without a hearing?
Yes. The Investigating Panel closes cases where there is no realistic prospect of a finding of impaired fitness to practise. A well-evidenced written response addressing that test directly is the single most effective thing that can be done for you, and it happens before any hearing is listed.
Does HCPC still regulate social workers?
No. Regulation of social workers in England transferred to Social Work England in December 2019. If your concern relates to social work practice in England, it will be dealt with by Social Work England rather than the HCPC — tell us and we will advise on that process instead.
What is an interim order?
An order suspending your registration or imposing conditions while the investigation continues, before any findings have been made. These hearings are listed at short notice and the practical effect is immediate. Specialist representation matters here, and we can attend quickly.
What is the standard of proof?
The civil standard — the balance of probabilities. An allegation is proved if a panel considers it more likely than not to have occurred, which is a lower threshold than the criminal standard.
Will my case be published?
HCPTS final hearings are usually held in public and determinations published, though health matters are generally heard in private. Cases closed at the Investigating Panel stage are not published, which is another reason the early response matters so much.
How quickly will you respond?
Within 1 hour during business hours. If an interim order hearing has been listed, say so when you call — those are treated as a priority.
Is everything I tell you confidential?
Yes. Every enquiry is handled in strict confidence and nothing leaves our office without your authority, whether or not you go on to instruct us.
The response you send now decides whether there is ever a hearing
Speak to a specialist before you send it. Confidential, no obligation, and we will check who pays at the same time.
We respond within 1 hour during business hours. All enquiries strictly confidential.