NMC And Healthcare Commission To Strengthen Public Safety, UK

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 07 Jan 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Healthcare Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) strengthening public protection where nurses and midwives are involved.

The agreement sets out the levels of cooperation and terms in which the NMC and the Healthcare Commission will work together when carrying out their regulatory duties in England and Wales.

While information sharing remains the primary focus of the agreement, other areas of collaboration may include provision of training and guidance, complaints and cross referrals of concerns, advice to ministers and joint inspections, investigations and/or reviews.

Commenting on the partnership with the Healthcare Commission, Sarah Thewlis, NMC Chief Executive & Registrar said, "As nurses and midwives are the largest group of healthcare professionals in the UK, it's an extremely positive step to reach this formal agreement with the Healthcare Commission. Forming a closer working relationship will assist in strengthening the NMC's primary purpose of protecting the public."

Anna Walker, Chief Executive of the Healthcare Commission said, "We welcome this agreement in ensuring a more joined up approach in improving systems particularly where there are concerns about the safety of patients relating to nursing or midwifery."

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the UK regulator for two professions, nursing and midwifery. The primary purpose of the NMC is protection of the public. It does this through maintaining a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses eligible to practise within the UK and by setting standards for their education, training and conduct. Currently the number of registrants exceeds 682,000. The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (The Order), sets out the NMC's role and responsibilities.

The Healthcare Commission is the health watchdog in England. It keeps check on health services to ensure that they are meeting standards in a range of areas. The Commission also promotes improvements in the quality of healthcare and public health in England through independent, authoritative, patient-centred assessments of those who provide services.

Nursing and Midwifery Council