Buddy pilot: holding your hand through FtP

Our support group aims to reduce this isolation and remove the fear of talking about the process. Nurses and midwives can discuss their experience confidentially with others who have been through the process and fully understand its impact. 

There are useful counselling services available via both the NMC and unions but we are unsure of their positive long-term effects. They rarely address the key issues faced by those undergoing investigation by their regulator and are only available for approximately 4-6 sessions. However, we will always encourage registrants to undertake counselling as it helps them gain insight into their mental health, explore other potential life issues that may be impacting them, and develop coping strategies. 

We are also aware that issues of specific FtP support are not unique to the Nursing and Midwifery professions. We are contacted by many other Allied Healthcare Professionals who are struggling and finding it difficult to get the help they need during their investigations.

In 2021 a grant from the Laura Hyde Foundation enabled us to launch the original Buddy service, formalising the support we were already giving. As ongoing funding allows, we will continue to offer this support.

The Buddy service offers:

• One-to-one support with an allocated Buddy from the same level on the register as themselves, who has been through FtP and had their case concluded.
• Up to 10 hourly sessions with their Buddy to explore the impact on their personal and professional lives, along with strategies on how to cope with the outcomes of their investigation. This can include issues such as: 
  • how to tell colleagues that they are going through FtP
  • dealing with conflict or situations that, before FtP, they would have raised higher but now feel anxious to do so
• Signposting for legal advice and other specific support areas including financial advice.

What the Buddy service does not provide is:

• A counselling service
• Case advice

The Buddies themselves will benefit from:

• training for the role
• monthly debrief sessions with a trained psychologist
• adapted skills to take back to the workplace
• a chance to give back

We all want safe practitioners, and we are sure that giving peer-to-peer support can only improve the patient care experience as well as have a more positive impact on career choices for those who have gone through FtP.

Our Buddies encourage registrants to engage with the FtP process. We find that registrants are better equipped to cope with the outcome when they do so. By understanding their actions in the context of an investigation, and by being able to reflect on their practice, a more positive outcome for both registrant and the wider profession often results.

We are actively trying to recruit up to 10 Buddies who will support approx 30 – 50 registrants. If you have been through FtP yourself, and feel ready to commit to helping those just starting their investigation, please get in touch.