“Wake Up, Slackers!” The Great Nursing Registration Controversy

It marked the recognition of nursing as a profession. But registration was not without controversy. Different nursing organisations clashed over stridently opposed ideas.

The exhibition commemorates over 100 years of nursing registration in the UK by delving into the heated arguments that characterised the registration debate. A century later, the issue of safe staffing once again made history with the ground-breaking Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 - the first legislation in the UK to set out requirements for safe staffing across both health and care services and most clinical professions. RCN campaigning influenced the legislation and is now focused on securing a timetable for implementation.