Witnesses play a vital role in helping us to investigate a concern raised about a pharmacy professional. The information they provide helps our committees to decide what should happen to resolve the concern.
If you’re asked to be involved in a fitness to practise investigation by giving a witness statement, or to give evidence at a hearing, the process may be unfamiliar to you. This page explains what to expect if you’re asked to be a witness.
Your case officer will also be able to tell you more about the process, if you have any questions.
If you’re asked to be a witness, the diagram on this page outlines what is involved at each stage of the process. Most cases are dealt with during the first two stages, or without the need for a hearing.
What to expect when being a witness
If you’d like to observe one of our hearings please contact: Hearings.Admin@pharmacyregulation.org
In some cases it may appropriate to hear parts of, or the entire hearing in private; please note that in these cases members of the public will not be admitted.
If you're a member of the media and want to join a hearing please contact the press office beforehand.
This factsheet gives you more information on providing a witness statement for a fitness to practise investigation.
Where there is a serious concern about a pharmacy professional, it’s important to present the evidence at a hearing so the fitness to practise committee can decide what to do to protect patients and the public.
If we ask you to give evidence at a hearing, you can find out more about what you need to do in our factsheet.
You can find out more about getting to the hearing and what to bring in our guide on attending a hearing.
If you have any questions ahead of the hearing, your witness liaison officer will be able to tell you more about the process and what we can do to make it easier for you.
Your witness liaison officer will let you know the outcome of the case. It’ll be made available to the public in a ‘determination document’, published on our website here. This outlines the committee’s decision and explains the reasons for it.
Find out more about what happens after a hearing.
We want to continue to improve the experience of being a witness. To do this, we’ll ask you about your experience in an online survey. We’d be grateful for any feedback you give us.
