Health Unions Respond to CRHE verdict on the Nursing & Midwifery Council
Published: 16 June 2008
Responding to the damning report by the Council for Regulation of Health Excellence (CHRE) into the conduct of the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council), health unions, the Royal College of Nursing, UNISON, Royal College of Midwives and Unite have issued a joint statement:
“It’s clear from this devastating report that there are major issues which need to be addressed in order to protect patient safety and restore public confidence. This must be a number one priority and the key recommendations of this report should be introduced as a matter of urgency.
“There is no doubt that the NMC has a hard task overseeing the regulation of the UK’s 680,000 nurses, midwives and health visitors but the public need to know they are working to the highest possible standards. We want to work with all parties collaboratively to ensure that these areas of serious concern are resolved as quickly as possible – patients deserve nothing less.
“Whilst the report states that they are fulfilling their statutory function its clear that they are not doing this to the reasonable standard that the public & registrants should expect.”
-ends-
Notes to Editors
Royal College of Nursing Press Office: 020 7647 3633
Unison Press Office: 07958 122 014
Royal College of Midwives Press Office: 020 7312 3432
Unite Press Office: 020 7780 4080
• The NMC are solely funded by nurses, midwives and health visitors, paying an annual registration fee. This is currently set at £76.00 per annum.
• The council for regulation of health excellence is the over arching regulator they over see the public protection across the 9 regulators the largest being the nursing and midwifery council, health professionals council, general medical council, general dental council etc
• The nursing and midwifery council was established by the nursing and midwifery order 2001 they regulate nurses, midwives and health visitors currently there are over 680000 registrants on their register. Regulation is a complex matter, however the primary aim of the NMC is to ensure pubic protection they do this by establishing standards for nursing midwives and health visitors to enter and maintain their professional registration and finally by managing allegations of fitness to practice ultimately removing from the professional register those individuals who fail to fulfil the standards expected of a registrant.
• The CHRE is required to undertake annual performance reviews annually of each of the