Cancellation Of England Nursing and Midwifery Council Elections Confirmed, UK

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 17 Jun 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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In a statement to last week's Council meeting, Sarah Thewlis confirmed that England elections will not be taking place.

If elections had gone ahead, the terms of office for new Council members for England would have been less than one year, and the NMC felt that running the election would have been a waste of money. However, in order to meet the previous legislative requirement of having members for England ready to take office on 1 August 2008, it was necessary to call the election on 14 May. The closing date for nominations was 5 June at which point the Electoral Reform Society had received one nomination for the nursing constituency. Since there had been no nominations for midwives or specialist community public health nurses, nominations for those constituencies had been extended.

However, following ongoing discussions with the Department of Health, the Nursing and Midwifery (Amendment) Order 2008 was formally made by the Privy Council at a meeting held on 11 June. The order contains provisions to cancel the election of members for England. It also extends the terms of office for existing members for England until the new fully appointed Council takes office.

Nursing and Midwifery Council