Research Papers

Here you will find papers about research we have commissioned or carried out. Find out more about our research in practice in this short case study. You can also find research papers published by academics and regulators on Our Bookshelf in the research section of our website.

Ethics in extraordinary times - practitioner experiences during the pandemic

We commissioned Professor Deborah Bowman to carry out research. This report is the result and it describes how the pandemic shaped and altered the ethical experiences of practitioners

Cognitive biases in fitness to practise decision-making: from understanding to mitigation

We might believe our conscious mind is in the driving seat when we are making decisions - but there are all sorts of factors coming into play behind the scenes - cognitive biases. We asked an expert to look at cognitive bias specifically in fitness to practise - read his advice in this report.

Does consistency between regulators matter?

What are the public, patient and professional perspectives on consistency between regulators and does it matter? We commissioned research to find out

Patient and public perspectives on future fitness to practise processes

We wanted to explore with patients and the public their perspective on future fitness to practise processes where hearings are not held, including how patients, the public and carers would wish to be involved in the likely future model, and views on oversight of the new arrangements

Review of research into health and care professional regulation

We commissioned Cardiff University to undertake a review of research into health and care professional regulation since 2011

Sexual misconduct in health and social care: understanding types of abuse and perpetrators’ moral mindsets

Using analysed records in 232 fitness to practise cases where sexual misconduct was found proven by registrants of the GMC, HCPC and NMC - Professor Searle has reviewed the academic and research literature on the key theories and explanations for why this kind of misconduct occurs

From public hearings to consensual disposal - insights from the decision-making literature

As part of our ongoing work on regulatory reform, particularly of fitness to practise proceedings, we wanted to find out what the available literature on decision-making tells us about the potential risks/benefits to the public of decisions generally being taken in a more private context

The role of patients and service users in ensuring the safety of the care they receive

Can patients be effective in maintaining their own safety? We wanted to explore further the role of patients and service users in ensuring the safety of the care they receive, so we commissioned this research to find out more

Telling patients the truth when something has gone wrong - how have professional regulators encouraged professionals to be candid to patients?

This paper sets out the progress professional regulators we oversee have made in embedding the professional duty of candour (being open and honest to a patient when something has gone wrong in their care) across the UK since 2014

Sexual behaviours between health and care practitioners: where does the boundary lie?

We have observed that regulators' fitness to practise panels may treat sexual misconduct between colleagues less seriously than when sexual boundaries with patients are overstepped. We believe this type of behaviour can have a negative impact on patient safety, so we commissioned research to get both public and professional perspectives on the subject

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Our research work in practice

Find out more about how the research work we do can contribute to improving regulation in this short case study

Where does the boundary lie?

Would you be willing to see a health practitioner who has overstepped a boundary with a colleague? Watch this short animation to find out what focus group participants thought about this question for our research on this subject.