Pinto v Nursing and Midwifery Council

An appeal may be dismissed where a forthcoming tribunal hearing will determine the conditions or restrictions that are the subject of the appeal, leaving no practical purpose for the court to continue it. The appellant’s absence and failure to pursue earlier opportunities for a hearing may also be relevant to refusing an adjournment. Where costs are awarded in principle, fairness requires the paying party to have a reasonable opportunity to challenge both liability and amount before the final sum is determined.

The applicant appealed against a Nursing and Midwifery Council Tribunal decision concerning conditions of practice originally imposed in July 2013. The conditions followed allegations that she had failed to keep adequate records while working with vulnerable children. An allegation of dishonesty had been rejected.

The applicant had not attended subsequent Tribunal hearings, had previously sought an adjournment of an appeal before Lang J, and did not attend the present hearing. A further Tribunal hearing was due shortly to consider whether the conditions should be extended or varied. The central issues were whether the appeal should be adjourned or dismissed and how the respondent’s costs application should be handled.

1. Dismissal of appeal. The appeal was dismissed. The applicant sought an adjournment so that she could obtain representation and challenge the suspension and conditions of practice. However, she had failed to attend earlier Tribunal hearings and did not attend the hearing before the court.
2. The forthcoming Tribunal hearing was due to consider whether the conditions should be extended or varied. It could address the applicant’s wish to resume practice and attend an appropriate return-to-practice course. In those circumstances, the appeal would be overtaken by the Tribunal’s decision, and there was no conceivable practical purpose in continuing it.
3. Costs. The respondent was entitled to costs in principle. The court directed that the costs schedule be served and that the applicant have 14 days to challenge liability or amount. The respondent would then have 14 days to respond, with the issue to be determined on the documents.

• High Court (Administrative Court): The appeal against the Nursing and Midwifery Council Tribunal proceedings was dismissed because a forthcoming Tribunal hearing would address the continuation or variation of the conditions of practice.
• Earlier proceedings: The judgment records an earlier appeal concerning the conditions before Lang J in 2014, but gives no citation or outcome for that decision.