Unions join forces to urge improvements at the NMC

Published: 06 August 2012

For immediate release: Monday 6 August 2012

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and UNISON today joined forces to urge swift and comprehensive improvements at the nursing and midwifery regulator the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

The health unions also jointly welcomed action from the Secretary of State Andrew Lansley MP to request that the NMC commissions an external, independent audit of the financial reasons behind its fee rise proposals, as well as a commitment to review previous financial planning and strategy. This will also help determine its ability to perform key functions now and in the future.

The joint statement reads as follows:

“We are pleased that the Secretary of State agrees with us that it is difficult to justify a fee increase for registrants, and has intervened in this way. As the unions representing nurses and midwives we welcome the request from the Government for the NMC to commission an independent audit of its case for a fee rise. We hope to see the terms of reference for the audit as soon as possible, and that those terms will be wide-ranging enough to deliver the change which is needed if the NMC is to be financially sustainable. It is also only right that the deadline for submissions to the NMC’s current consultation should be extended so that the results of this audit can be taken into account.

“The NMC is presenting our members with a fee rise of nearly 60%. This is not a situation which the nursing and midwifery professions can tolerate. The proposed audit needs to be carried out swiftly and its recommendations taken on board. This is essential for nurses and midwives to have confidence in the NMC as their regulator. It is also key to the organisation moving forward, demonstrating value for money and ensuring its statutory responsibility to protect patients.”

Ends

Notes for Editors

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nursing staff and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.

The Royal College of Midwives is the voice of midwifery. We are the UK’s only trade union and professional organisation led by midwives for midwives. The vast majority of the midwifery profession are our members. The RCM promotes midwifery, quality maternity services and professional standards. We support and represent our members individually and collectively in all four UK countries. We influence on behalf of our members and for the interests of the women and families for which they care. For more information visit the RCM website at www.rcm.org.uk <http://www.rcm.org.uk/> .

With more than 1.3 million members, UNISON is the UK’s largest public sector union. Nearly half a million of those members are in healthcare, including 300,000 members of the nursing family. We represent our members at work, and campaign for decent public services for families and communities across the UK.

For further information, please contact the RCN Media Office on 020 7647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/media, the RCM press office on 020 7312 3432, pressofficer@rcm.org.uk or visit http://www.rcm.org.uk/college/about/media-centre/ and the UNISON press office on 0207 121 5555