NMC Statement: Misleading Information In Nursing Standard

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 05 Jul 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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This week Nursing Standard published some misleading and speculative information regarding the NMC's registration fee. The story, titled 'Registration fees could increase as regulator goes into black', also included factually inaccurate information about the NMC's diversity data collection exercise which will soon be launched.

Registration fee

Last week, a reporter from Nursing Standard attended a media briefing regarding the Trustees Report and Accounts which were presented to Council today. The key message from the briefing was that thanks to careful financial management and prudent investment, the NMC has cleared the historical debt inherited from the UKCC. This means that for the first time since 2002, all of the registration fee can be used for the purpose of public protection rather than dealing with historical financial issues.

During the media briefing, the Nursing Standard reporter asked if this would now mean that the registration fee would be reduced. Nursing Standard were clearly informed that it is our intention to prepare a fees strategy paper to be presented to Council by the end of the current financial year. However, we could not confirm to the reporter the content of such a paper, or any specific recommendations regarding the registration fee, because the paper had not yet been drafted.

The NMC is aware that the registration fee can be a contentious issue for nurses and midwives, particularly in the current economic climate. The report in Nursing Standard is speculative and misleading. A fees strategy paper is being prepared and Council will consider this at some point before March 2010 but there are no plans to increase the registration fee at this time.

Diversity data collection

The NMC holds two types of information about nurses and midwives: data which must be provided to maintain registration and diversity data which nurses and midwives provide voluntarily to help us to do our work. The same news story in Nursing Standard incorrectly stated that diversity data will be published "...on the nursing register next year".

This is completely untrue and indeed would be in breach of the Data Protection Act. All diversity data provided to the NMC will be kept securely and separate from registration data. The NMC has extensive experience of securely and safely storing such data. Only those staff who will be involved in maintaining the database and compiling statistics will have access to the data. The data will be used to generate statistical reports only, for example that around 11 per cent of the register is male.

The NMC will ensure that any statistical reports we publish do not identify individual nurses or midwives. We will not use or view the diversity data of nurses and midwives when dealing with applications for registration, renewing registration or considering complaints and the data will not be shared with any third party.

A complaint was made by the NMC to the Editor of Nursing Standard who has admitted that the information published is misleading and has promised to publish a correction next week.

Source
Nursing & Midwifery Council