UK Nursing Regulator Met 9 of 18 Standards in 2024-25 Review

The Professional Standards Authority published its 2024-25 performance review of the Nursing and Midwifery Council on Thursday. The report stated the NMC met nine of 18 measured standards, down from 11 the previous year. The review found the NMC had wrongly approved more than 350 fraudulent or underqualified nurses to work in the UK.

It also noted that 15 nurses with criminal convictions or health concerns remained on the register for up to 12 years.

The NMC identified the registration errors after a whistleblower raised concerns in February. The regulator then reviewed 18,060 applications submitted over a 12-year period. The Nursing and Midwifery Council said the 15 nurses should have been removed because they were not safe to work with patients.

The PSA reported limited assurance over the quality of initial case screening and said fitness-to-practice investigations still took too long. It also flagged shortfalls in oversight of university nursing and midwifery courses. The authority added that the NMC did not meet equality and diversity standards or transparency requirements.

A PSA spokesperson stated the NMC showed mixed progress and had not demonstrated substantial and sustained improvement. The spokesperson said the recent registration issue had compounded existing problems. Paul Rees, chief executive and registrar of the NMC, said the report reflected historical issues and that the transformation programme, which spans three years, had uncovered the vetting failures.

He added the organisation would continue to address legacy problems. The NMC stated it is now carrying out checks across all regulatory areas.