On the 15th January 2020 Sharne received the news she felt was never going to come. The panel had concluded that there was no impairment and the case was closed.

She had returned to the NMC following the first part of her hearing which concluded just before Christmas with all facts found proven by the NMC. She was devastated and although had always known this was a possibility felt equally sure that the panel would see the case for what it was and take her version rather than the referrer's as the facts to be proven. She had had a difficult relationship with her previous employer and her time there had not ended well - this is often the case with many who find themselves infront of an NMC panel. She had no means to be legally represented by union or private and so her only option was to self represent. One of our group attended with her to advocate should she need it and help her understand the process better. It was also important to ensure she had someone to safeguard her as the NMC are unable to offer this currently. The first part of her hearing was very stressful, she had to prepare her case - daunting for someone with no legal knowledge and she had to cross examine witnesses. She was scared and intimintated and at one point admitted she "wanted to run away". The process had caused her a great deal of trauma and despite having full support of her current employer she was terrified. During the hearing her partner who is disabled became very unwell, she had to continue to engage rather than concentrate on him. Today's outcome is a relief to everyone and we were pleased to see that perhaps, for this panel, the new strategy of being person centred and taking context and current risk into account has at last been implemented. We can't help but wonder though, if it could have been concluded sooner to allow her to end last year and put it all behind her, rather than the uncertainty that came across to a new year... "This group has been my strength when I lacked it, my laughter when I needed it, my friend when I had none, my sense when mine was clouded, my sanity when all I had was insanity. Cannot express how serious things got for me and how this group saved me."