Is the RCVS disciplinary process fit for purpose ...
At the first Council meeting of 2025 it was revealed the College thought six months was 'an appropriate timeframe,' to complete the initial phase of a disciplinary investigation ... six months ! For anyone who has been on the receiving end it feels more like six years. I'm not sure if things have changed, but it used to be a letter would arrive out of the blue saying a complaint had been made and the College would be in touch in due course. No mention of who made the complaint, no mention of what it related to, nothing. Then, eventually, a more detailed 'charge' would arrive to which the defendant was required to respond. After that, months of to and fro correspondence, of endless picking and probing. The more it became obvious the original claim was vexatious, the more they dug. The impression was the PIC would not be content unless they drew blood, until they found something, anything, no matter how small or unrelated, to pin on you. Most practitioners who ha...