Stephen McCaffrey
Fitness to Practise BarristerStephen is a specialist healthcare barrister and consultant with a proven track record of success and years of experience in regulatory defence.
He specialises in healthcare law and regulation. As a leading regulatory law barrister, he has vast experience in defending all healthcare professionals in all courts and tribunals ranging from doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals including paramedics and social workers.
- Joint Head of Kings View Chambers
- Head of medical defence barristers group
- Head of licensing defence barristers group
- Trainee Children’s Panel Member at Children’s Hearing Scotland
- Non-executive Director (co-opted) member of Management Committee at The Richmond Fellowship Scotland
- Professional mentor to students at University of East London
- Legal editorial contributor to the Private Hire Taxi Monthly magazine.
- Former external counsel to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- Former external counsel and regulatory compliance consultant at Taxify
- Former examiner and assessor on professional courses at BPP
Professional & academic
- MA in Safeguarding Adults: Law, Policy Practice (2017-2019)
- Diploma in Safeguarding Law (2018)
- Diploma in Forensic Medical Sciences (2018-2019)
- Advanced Certificate in Health Service Governance (2018-2019)
- Inns of Court School of Law BVC (Outstanding)
- LLB Honours in Law (University College London)
- Head of Chambers at Kings View Chambers – (www.kingsviewchambers.com)
Practice Areas:
- Healthcare Regulation
- GMC MPTS / NMC/ HCPC/ GPhC / GDC Defence
- Care home law and care standards tribunals
- Coroners Inquests
- Regulatory and Disciplinary Tribunal
- Licensing and regulation
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His cases have included
- Investigations by GMC, NMC, GPhC, GDC, HCPC, CQC
- MPTS and Fitness to Practise Hearings
- NHS England investigations and tribunals
- Performer List issues
- Interim Order Representation
- Appeal Against Refusal of Registration
- Appeal Against Conditions of Practise, Suspension and Strike Off
- Restoration to the Medical Register
- Revalidation
His principles are:
- EARLY, CLEAR, DIRECT ADVICE.
- FIXED FEES IN ALL CASES.
Stephen’s experience includes defending and representing healthcare professionals including issues with registration, allegations made against them for poor professional competence, health issues and allegations of misconduct.
Healthcare professionals facing investigations for alleged issues relating to fitness to practise face the prospect of losing their career and having their professional reputation tarnished. Each health regulatory body has its own processes and procedures to investigating and responding to healthcare professionals’ fitness to practise. The process will often be complex and daunting for even the most experienced healthcare professionals.
Through his extensive experience, he has gained an understanding and appreciation of the complexities of these processes and the stress and upset this can cause healthcare professionals. He has obtained an excellent reputation for his approach to defending healthcare professionals before regulatory hearings.
Because his is both public access and litigation trained and authorised he can take care of all the case management, preparation and liaison with the regulatory body on your behalf to minimise any unnecessary stress and upset.
When faced with the prospect of a fitness to practise investigation and hearing, early instruction of a competent legal advisor is essential to ensure the best outcome for you. His early intervention can result in your case being dropped at an early stage in the investigation by your regulatory body. If not, expert legal representation and meticulous case preparation can often result in much better outcomes for healthcare professionals than had they not been properly represented.
If you are a healthcare professional facing difficulties with your registration or ability to practise, call him today for an initial free consultation.
How Stephen can help you with your case
As a barrister, he is an expert specialist lawyer and advocate. He advises clients on the strengths and weakness of their case with independence and objectivity. The added value to his advice is that he has specialist knowledge in these areas because he practices them every day. This knowledge covers the court room or hearing room, case presentation and case strategy which often means the difference between winning and losing.
What his clients say:
“Hi Stephen, Thanks very much for today – and indeed the last 4-weeks – you really did perform extremely well at short notice. I’m not sure if you like receiving compliments (I certainly don’t), but here goes anyway…I’m very rarely impressed, but your general oratory and quick thinking in court are a pleasure to observe. Not once did you miss a subtle discrepancy or an opportunity to reinforce your central message, and I genuinely had confidence in you.
Thank you for everything you have done for me.”
-AM, Social Worker, HCPC Fitness to Practise Hearing.
I really do not know what to say. I managed to dig myself into a terrible hole and without your help I was going to lose my registration. Thank you so much Mr McCaffrey. You were direct, clear and got me to take it seriously. I am so grateful and cannot tell you what this means to me. I had given up on nursing. Now I am back doing a job I love.
-MD, Nurse, Fitness to Practise Hearing.
Stephen, I know we have not finished yet but without you I was going to be struck off. I cannot believe how bad my previous advice was and the outcome you got for me. I will be telling all of my colleagues. Thank you to you and your team.
-MS, Doctor, GP, NHS England Performers List matter and CQC Referral.
Thank you Stephen for everything. I am delighted with the outcome. Will definitely recommend you.
-KM, Radiologist, HCPC Fitness to Practise Appeal.
Dear Stephen, Thanks for your ongoing support. I hope we could find an ongoing relationship with your chambers. Kind regards and thanks for your help. You are one of the best lawyers I have ever come across.
-JR, Doctor, GP Practice, CQC Warning Notice and Inspection.
Hello. Yes I will send feedback of course as I am ever so grateful for your support. I will wish for Mr McCaffrey to represent me at a future hearing. Thank you for everything.
-NG, Social worker, HCPC Interim Order and Fitness to Practise Hearing.
Hi Stephen, Thank you so so much for supporting me through this. I really would have struggled alone. I cannot believe the allegations were dismissed following your intervention. I have my career and good name back.
-JR, Social worker, HCPC Investigation and Internal Investigation.
Stephen, This is to let you know that HCPC has revoked the Interim Order on 11th May 2018. Thanks for your help. I am very grateful. Could not have done it without you and your team.
-RB, Social worker, HCPC Interim Order and Fitness to Practise Hearing.
“Stephen – I can honestly say that I am fully satisfied by the service that you have offered. I have a clear feeling that the result achieved is the best that we could ever have hoped for and even better, under the circumstances. You have been very supportive, professional and very effective in your approach during the whole process of dealing with my case, from start to finish. You have an obvious ability to absorb a case in its entirety to then produce a clear analysis to pull out very useful elements, strengths and weakness alike. I believe your very sound and methodical approach has strongly contributed to reach the positive outcome that we have reached. I shall never thank you enough for that. Beyond financial considerations, I could clearly see that to you, this field is your passion and that you will always do all that you can to be of service to your client, even to protect me from myself at times, when required. And one needs to be honest and say that your fees are reasonable and lower than the average on the market. I am very aware that your very competent support and your passion even have been a great part to my success, our success. I am very clear that should I need a lawyer again in future, you would definitely be my first port of call every time.
-DB, Social Worker, HCPC Fitness to Practise Hearing.
Memberships
- Institute of Directors
- Institute of Licensing
- National Landlords Association
- Middle Temple
- Criminal Bar Association
- South Eastern Circuit
- NEDonBoard
- Member of NICE and SCIE
- Legal Action Group (LAG)
- Supporter and Patron of many charities
My Approach
• Renowned for being “hands on”
• Expect a great deal of communication
• Direct and realistic advice
• Won’t guarantee things I cannot deliver
• Will not waste your time and money
• If I don’t think I can help you I will tell you.
Legal
• All the forensic intellectual skills of the experienced lawyer
• Strip down complex and challenging scenarios to their core essentials
• Professional discipline and processes provide foundation in research
• Analysis and likely impact as a means to derive effective action plans
Leadership
• Accomplished leader who secures commitment, support and loyalty
• Invited to provide commercial and functional leadership
• Imposed authority on struggling organisations needing immediate guidance
• Engendered new sense of purpose and took not-always-willing colleagues along the path
Turnaround
• Possesses real insight into diagnosing organisational weakness
• Able to devise and deliver recovery strategies to achieve objectives
• Headhunted to rescue underperforming barristers’ chambers
• Built plans to secure the business by radical reform of all aspects of business
• Introducing new systems, a marketing culture and driving a sense of esprit de corps and shared mission
Entrepreneurial
• Exhibits real entrepreneurial flair coupled with strong management expertise
• Responsibility for family’s property portfolio, ran a hotel in Ireland turning round its performance
• Devised and launched new services aimed at individual users of legal services – a direct-to-barristers offer that reduces cost by cutting out solicitors and a pro bono surgery to help people understand their rights.
Engagement
• Possesses strong interpersonal skills
• A robust constituency in favour of change despite significant resistance
• Use one-to-ones to explain the options and the risk of doing nothing or not enough
• Laying out the cost, reputational and career downsides
• Clearly articulating the benefits of success
Solutions
• Able to assess situations rapidly and accurately
• An innate skill of seeing to the heart of an issue, understanding it and then identifying strategies
• Sees solutions vividly and explains reasoning and preferred options with clarity and authority
Ambassador
• High level of people skills and authoritative personal presence
• Strong impression with clients and stakeholders alike
• Able to present complex data accessibly from the audience’s perspective
• Reliable ambassador who can be introduced to any stakeholders