RCN responds to Health Select Committee report into NMC

Published: 06 March 2013

The Royal College of Nursing  has responded to the publication of a Health Select Committee report which scrutinises the nursing regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dr Peter Carter said nursing needs a strong, effective regulator, which is fit to meet the needs of patients and the profession.

“This report highlights that the NMC has made some progress in prioritising Fitness to Practise hearings, and reducing its immense backlog,” Dr Carter said. “The NMC needs to forge ahead with this and develop revalidation as a priority. The RCN wants to see the NMC’s leadership, under the chairmanship of Mark Addison, ensure that it is effective in the long term. To do this, the NMC needs to have continuity in its leadership, and importantly it must be financially stable.”

The RCN believes nurses need to have faith and confidence in their regulator, and that this will be damaged if they are again confronted with an unfair increase in registration fees designed to “bail out” an organisation which has not been able to plan its workload.

“The Committee has identified challenges for the NMC in terms of its systems, which must be addressed as a matter of urgency,” added Dr Carter. “ However it is also important that the NMC develops and maintains a positive working culture. A staff turnover of 36 per cent is a sign of an organisation which needs to change, and we trust that the new leadership of the NMC will make sure that this happens.”