Nursing body ‘a total failure’

Patients are being let down by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) because of “failings at every level”, a report has found.

A root and branch overhaul is required for the NMC to fulfil its key duty to protect the public, the review by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence found. The NMC is responsible for the regulation of the 670,000 nurses and midwives currently registered in the UK.

But weak leadership has failed to create the modern, effective and efficient regulator that the public, nurses and midwives need and deserve, the review found.

Despite a “strong passion for public protection” among staff, the report found problems “at every level, in every system”.

Jackie Smith, the NMC’s acting chief executive and registrar, apologised for what she called its “substantial failings”.

DOMINIC HARRIS