The guidance below is for members who wish to access advice when the CSP's offices are closed.
Advice for Members during the Holiday Closure
The CSP closes between Christmas Day and New Year. In exceptional circumstances issues may arise where members wish to access more immediate advice. In these circumstances members are advised to note the guidance below, which covers key issues, and also if necessary to contact the CSP on 020 7306 6666 on 2nd January.
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Notification of fitness to practice proceedings: The HCPC is the regulatory body for physiotherapists and will therefore notify registrants if an allegation has been made regarding their fitness to practice, and also outline the process that will be followed. Wherever possible the HCPC avoids sending notification letters during the Christmas period, but any member receiving notification should contact the CSP as soon as possible after the Christmas break and your details will be forwarded to the relevant senior negotiating officer who will then get in touch and provide advice.
Interim Order Hearing: In very exceptional circumstances the HCPC may require a registrant to attend an interim order hearing at short notice. As there are often only a few days to prepare for this please contact the CSP as early as possible on January 4th and you will be put through to the appropriate officer.
More information on HCPC proceedings can be found on the HCPC website and in the ERUS Information Paper 40: HCPC Investigations – A member guide.
http://www.csp.org.uk/publications/hcpc-investigations-member-guide
Find out more about HCPC hearings on the HCPC website or in our information paper: HCPC Investigations – a member guide
Workplace Issues:
Disciplinary Meetings/Suspension: It is highly unlikely you would be asked to attend a disciplinary meeting during the Christmas period. However, for any workplace issues, including disciplinary investigations, hearings and suspension you should first contact your local CSP steward. If your steward is on leave then you have the right torequest to postpone any meeting until a steward is available. If there is no steward, then you will need to contact the CSP on 2nd January, and again explain to the manager that any meeting will need to be postponed until you have been able to take advice and access formal support. It would be considered fair and reasonable for any employer to postpone a meeting in this circumstance. The only exception would be if it was a meeting to inform you of a decision to suspend you from work which is likely to take place with minimal notification. In this situation if a steward is not available, we would advise you to take a colleague, but any subsequent meetings would then need to be postponed as above until you had the necessary support.
Work-related criminal investigation:
Police Interview under caution: In rare circumstances a complaint to the police regarding a CSP member may lead to a police investigation. In these cases you may be called for a police interview with limited warning. Police interviews under caution are covered by Legal Aid across the UK and therefore all members can choose to use the duty solicitor offered at the police station or to access Thompsons solicitors through their CSP membership. You can call the dedicated Thompsons 24-hour telephone line on 0800 587 7530. This number is only with regard to work-related criminal cases and you will need to provide your membership number.
We would strongly advise you to use the solicitor available through Thompsons solicitors. For further information on Thompsons services please see the Legal Services webpage: http://www.csp.org.uk/professional-union/union-support/legal-services.
Please note Thompsonslegal representation will only extend to the interview under caution in England and Wales, due to how Legal Aid is provided in these countries.
PLI notifications:
If you receive a letter from a solicitor or a patient saying that you have caused them harm through your alleged clinical negligence, you must notify the CSP insurance brokers (James Hallam) as soon as possible. Details of how to make a notification are on the CSP website https://www.csp.org.uk/professional-clinical/professional-guidance/insurance/policy-information/csp-pli-scheme . When the CSP is closed, contact the insurance brokers directly by e-mail on promedschemes@jameshallam.co.uk and put ‘PLI notification’ in the e-mail subject heading along with your CSP membership number. The e-mail will serve as a record of the date that you contacted James Hallam. James Hallam will contact you once their offices re-open after Christmas to support you with the PLI process.