Have your say about patient safety

Published: 16 February 2010

Almost everyone in the UK will receive health care at some point. For many, this can be a daunting experience and the public needs the assurance that they will receive high-quality frontline care in these situations.

New guidance coming

With this in mind, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has been working with professional, patient and employer groups to develop new guidance to help nurses and midwives raise concerns in a way that won’t put their registration at risk.

If you want to have confidence that the nurses and midwives who provide frontline care are able to speak out about any issues that may compromise your care, then now is your chance to contribute to an important piece of work by participating in the NMC's online survey attached to the UK-wide guidance consultation, open until 31 March 2010.

Guidance aims

NMC Project Lead Caroline Williams said: "We've been working with professional, patient and employer groups to develop guidance that will provide nurses and midwives with clear information about how to raise or escalate a concern and stay within their code of professional conduct.

"The guidance emphasises following local policies and procedures when raising or escalating a concern, and strongly advises seeking confidential independent advice throughout the process.

"We now need the public, as well as nurses and midwives, to tell us if the guidance is the clear and practical tool that we've been working towards. I would encourage anyone who has been cared for by a nurse or a midwife to complete the questionnaire and get at least one friend or family member to do the same."

Take part

The survey questions, along with printer-friendly versions of the consultation documents, can be found here. If, for any reason, you are unable to complete the online survey, or if you would like to receive it in a different format, please contact the NMC on telephone: 020 7642 5880, or email: consultations@nmc-uk.org stating your requirements.

If you have concerns

As an RCN member, if you have reported concerns about patient safety to your employer and feel no action has been taken or you are at risk of victimisation, the RCN can help – and keep you anonymous. Call our Raising concerns raising standards line on 0345 772 6300 or fill in our online form.