UK case law
McMorine, R (on the application of) v Nursing & Midwifery Council
[2008] EWHC ADMIN 1821 · High Court (Administrative Court) · 2008
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Full judgment
1. MR JUSTICE BURNETT: This is an application for an extension of an Interim Suspension Order made originally by the Investigating Committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council on 14 March 2006.
2. The short background to the matter is that the respondent was employed as a nurse at the Pineturn Care Home in the first half of 2005. In the course of her employment some serious difficulties came to light which have resulted in disciplinary proceedings before the Council. The original order was made on 14 March 2006, and cogent reasons were given by the Investigating Committee which suggested that the protection of the public was the underlying basis for the interim suspension.
3. The proceedings before the Council have had an unhappy history, with a number of adjournments which are in truth no one's fault. In the result, the interim suspension has been extended, but comes to an end in the very near future. A hearing date has now been set for 22 August 2008, which Mrs McDonald tells me is a fixed date. In those circumstances, an extension of the interim order of suspension is sought for four months. That period is less than originally sought in the application. The basis for it is that although it is hoped that the proceedings will be finished by the end of August, should they go part-heard on 22 August 2008, the reality is that another date some weeks hence would have to be found.
4. Mrs McMorine, I am told, has taken very little part in the proceedings before the Council. She has provided an address to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The provision of an up-to-date address is a professional requirement. The Council served notice of today's hearing upon her at that address by recorded delivery on 18 June 2008. That was returned on 11 July 2008 indicating that the items were being returned to sender. The precise circumstances in which the papers were not accepted at the address are unknown, but I am satisfied that the applicant Council has taken proper steps to serve Mrs McMorine at the only address they have for her.
5. In all these circumstances, I am prepared to extend the interim suspension order to four months from today, namely 11 November 2008.