Hannah Stephenson

partner

Harrogate
inquest and inquiries
h.stephenson@hempsons.co.uk
01423 724138

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Hannah was called to the Bar in 2007 and has rights of audience to appear in all courts and tribunals in England and Wales.

Hannah has broad experience of defending and prosecuting in fitness to practise proceedings. At present, Hannah primarily defends doctors, dentists and opticians before their regulatory bodies and assists practitioners with registration and specialist list applications. Hannah also undertakes inquest work, representing individual practitioners as well as NHS trusts and other healthcare organisations.

Prior to joining Hempsons, Hannah was a lawyer at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, where she presented complex and high profile cases before its practice committees and appeared before the administrative court in applications and statutory appeals.

Prior to joining the NMC, Hannah specialised in criminal defence at the independent Bar and Hannah continues to defend practitioners facing police investigations and criminal proceedings.

Main areas of expertise

professional discipline
regulatory law
registration/specialist list application
inquests
criminal law
high court applications and appeals

Clients she works with

doctors
dentists
opticians
nurses
midwives
medical and dental defence organisations
NHS trusts
private healthcare providers

Qualifications

Bar Vocational course, 2007
LLM Human Rights Law, 2006
LLB Law with Politics (Honours), 2005

Professional memberships

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers

Entry on to a GDC Specialist List
11 March 2021
Any dentist with full GDC registration can apply to join one or more of the GDC’s 13 Specialist Lists, which would enable them to use the title “Specialist” in their chosen discipline.

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Building a fortress – how robust record keeping can protect you against GDC complaints
7 January 2019
The GDC’s 2017 Annual Report states that the GDC received 1910 complaints in 2017, which is a marked decrease from 2016 (2630 complaints) and 2015 (2786 complaints). This is a positive trend, although it is not yet known whether it has continued into 2018.

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Hempsons’ Dental Newsbrief Winter 2018/19
7 January 2019
Welcome to the latest edition of Hempsons' Dental Newsbrief.

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Fitness to Practise: An overview of GMC processes and common issues for independent practitioners
21 October 2017
Due, in part, to the growing use of social media and media coverage of the healthcare profession, complaints to healthcare regulatory bodies are growing. The way in which these complaints are handled is continually evolving in order to manage the growing number of complaints.

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Updated GMC Guidance on Confidentiality 2017 – what you need to know
22 May 2017
The updated GMC Guidance Confidentiality: Good Practice in Handling Patient Information (“the Guidance”) came into effect on 25 April 2017. The Guidance builds upon the core principles set out in the GMC’s Good Medical Practice. It is aimed at providing a framework for considering when to disclose a patient’s personal information and sets out the responsibilities of all doctors for managing and protecting that information.

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