During the hearing
Once you've joined the hearing you will be able to see the tribunal. MPTS staff will have their cameras switched off but you'll be able to hear them when they speak.
Remember to turn your video on and unmute your microphone when you are speaking. Say your name, or anonymised naming convention, before you speak. With prior agreement, there may be situations where your video is switched off.
The chair or the hearing host will confirm who is present.
If you lose connection and drop out of the hearing, close the Teams window and re-join using the link from the hearing invite.
Breaks
If you or your witness need a break, please raise this. You can use the 'raise hand' button to ask.
If there's a short break, the chair may say that you can switch off your camera and microphone. The chair will state what time to come back. When the tribunal has switched their cameras back on, you may do the same.
If there's a longer break (eg 1 hour+), you should leave the hearing. You can re-join at the time specified by the tribunal chair, using the link in the hearing invite. When the hearing reconvenes, you'll be admitted from the lobby again. We'll let you know if there are any changes to timings.
MPTS support service
If you're an unrepresented doctor, physician associate or anaesthesia associate and want to speak with the MPTS support service, we'll arrange to move you to a separate breakout room where only you and the support service representative are present. A breakout room is a private 'room' within the hearing and is hosted in MS Teams. If you move to a breakout room, your camera and/or audio may switch off. Switch these back on if this happens.
While you're meeting with the support service representative, the tribunal will move into a separate meeting and all other participants will turn their cameras and microphones off until the hearing reconvenes.
Recording and transcription
The hearing is recorded and transcribed within MS Teams. MPTS staff will start and stop the recording and transcription. A banner may appear to let you know when they have started stating.
The recording and transcription will be stopped during breaks and while the tribunal is in private discussion.
You may notice that the recording and transcription appear in the chat box – it is only an image and you won't be able to access it.
In-hearing recordings and transcriptions are the official record of the hearing. We do not release the recording of a hearing, instead, we have an external company that can provide an official transcript, on request.
If you need a record of proceedings after the hearing, you should complete the relevant online form. For more information see our Recording of Hearings and Transcripts Guidance.
Only MPTS recording of a hearing is permitted. The audio/visual recording, re-use, re-editing or redistribution of the hearing in any form is not permitted at any time. You can't take any action which may affect the security or integrity of the platform that the hearing is hosted on. No screen sharing will be permitted. No links or documents should be inserted into the chat box.
Any breach of these requirements may lead to your exclusion from this hearing and, in some circumstances, could result in legal action being taken against you.