CNO Newsletter March 2011 - Department of Health, Social ...

NEWSNursing and MidwiferyCouncil UpdateAdvice and information for employers ofnurses and midwives.The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)has produced a booklet that sets out the keyresponsibilities for employers of the UK’s 660,000registered nurses and midwives. The bookletintroduces employers, not all of whom will be a nurseor midwife, to the NMC, and informs employers abouttheir responsibilities for making sure their nursesand midwives continue to meet the registrationrequirements and are fit to practise.NMC Chief Executive and Registrar, ProfessorDickon Weir-Hughes said: “Not everyone involved inthe employment of nurses and midwives will be anurse or midwife themselves so we need to makesure everyone understands our role and the jointresponsibility we share in ensuring the health andwellbeing of the public.The way in which healthcare is delivered is changing,particularly as more care is moved into the community.Employers are responsible for the conduct andperformance of their staff and will need to developnew and innovative ways to ensure their nursesand midwives receive regular appraisals and thateducation and training opportunities are madeavailable”.Fitness to Practice ReferralsThe guide also informs employers about the processfor referring someone to the NMC for investigation.“Our role is not to punish nurses and midwives. Ourrole is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of thepublic from nurses and midwives whose fitness topractise is impaired and whose situation cannot bemanaged locally. This new guide will help employersto identify when they should be referring someoneto us for investigation and when they should bemanaging these issues through their own disciplinaryprocedures.”Raising and escalating concerns.Guidance for nurses and midwivesEvery registered nurse and midwife in the UK hasbeen sent information about how to raise and escalateconcerns about the safety or wellbeing of people intheir care.The NMC has produced guidance underpinned by theprinciples set out in the Code: Standards of conduct,performance and ethics for nurses and midwivesand Guidance on professional conduct for nursingand midwifery students. The raising and escalatingconcerns booklet is for all nurses, midwives and preregistrationnursing and midwifery students. It willestablish principles for best practice in the raising andescalating of concerns and aims to complement localwhistle blowing policies and safeguarding procedures.NMC has developed a specific section on their websiteto provide further information. This can be accessedfrom www.nmc-uk.org and explains the processesthat should be followed and provides informationabout the legislation in this area and indicates whereconfidential support and advice can be accessed.Commenting on the new guidance, NMC ChiefExecutive and Registrar, Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes said: “Poor care must never be tolerated. Thisnew guidance will support nurses and midwives toeffectively manage risk and empower them to speakout on behalf of the people and families in theircare. However raising a concern is only the first step.This guidance will only be effective if managers andsenior staff are committed to a culture that openlyencourages people to raise concerns. I encouragenursing and midwifery leaders to be proactive in theirapproach to disseminating the guidance to their staffand urge them to nominate a champion to lead onimplementing the guidance across their organisation.”(For further information on regulation of theprofessions see back page for details)10