For employers and NHS trusts
Independent investigations and chairing for NHS trusts and healthcare employers
When a concern about a doctor needs an independent case investigator or an independent chair, we provide one. Saqib Khan, a former fee paid judge of the County Court, leads the work.
Case investigation
Independent investigation under MHPS
A concern about a doctor may need investigating under Maintaining High Professional Standards. If so, you can appoint an independent case investigator from outside the organisation. We establish the facts, interview the doctor and the witnesses, and review the records and policies. Then we give the case manager a written report with clear findings and the evidence for each one.
An investigator from outside the trust avoids the conflicts that arise when colleagues investigate colleagues. It also gives the doctor and the trust confidence in the outcome.
Chairing
Independent chairs for disciplinary and appeal hearings
We chair disciplinary, capability and appeal hearings for NHS trusts, private hospitals, GP partnerships and other healthcare employers. Saqib Khan sat as a fee paid judge of the County Court for more than four years. He runs a hearing as a judge would. Each side has a fair chance to put its case, and the panel stays focused on the issues. The decision comes with written reasons that set out the evidence and the findings.
A reasoned written decision gives everyone a clear record of why the panel decided as it did. It also stands up better if someone later challenges the decision.
Independence and fees
How we take instructions
Before we accept any instruction, we check for conflicts. We do not investigate or chair a matter in which we have acted for any party. Once we know the scope of the investigation or the length of the hearing, we quote a fixed fee, plus VAT. We confirm it in writing before work begins.
We also offer mediation for workplace and professional disputes.
The process
How an instruction runs
Every instruction starts with terms of reference agreed with the commissioning body. They set out the questions the investigation must answer or the matters the hearing must decide. Where the terms are unclear or too wide, we raise that before work begins, because the report can answer only the questions they set. At the same stage we agree a timetable with the commissioning body, covering the document review, the interviews and the date for the report.
We then read the documents, including records, policies, correspondence and any earlier statements. From that review we identify the witnesses and the points to put to each of them. We interview the doctor and the witnesses, keep a note of each interview and give each person the chance to check their account. The doctor can bring a companion in line with the employer's policy and the framework that applies.
The investigation ends with a written report. It sets out the evidence, makes findings of fact against each item in the terms of reference and gives the reasons for each finding. The report gives the case manager enough information to decide what happens next. That decision rests with the commissioning body, not with us.
Independence
Independence and conflicts
An investigation or a hearing carries weight only if the person leading it is independent. Before accepting any instruction, Saqib Khan checks for conflicts with the commissioning body, the doctor and the witnesses. If a conflict exists, or someone might reasonably perceive one, we decline the instruction.
Where the Maintaining High Professional Standards framework applies, the commissioning body appoints us as its independent case investigator or chair. Our role is to find the facts and report them fairly, and we argue for neither side. We do not act for the doctor concerned in the same matter, at any stage. Our conflict check covers our defence work for doctors as well as our work for employers.
Fees
Fees for investigations and chairing
We quote fees on request, and every fee is plus VAT. The quotation reflects the terms of reference, the volume of documents and the number of interviews or hearing days the matter needs. We confirm the fee in writing before work begins, so the commissioning body knows the cost from the outset.
To request a quotation, send us the draft terms of reference or a short outline of the concern. We reply with a fee and a proposed timetable.
Arrange a confidential conversation
Call 07356 071 193 or email hello@eloquia.co.uk. Your first conversation may be with our AI assistant, which tells you at the start that it is an AI assistant, not a person or a lawyer, and gives no legal advice. It takes your details and a short questionnaire for Saqib Khan, and where we can help we arrange an appointment with him at a time that suits you both. Our privacy notice explains how what you tell us is handled.