NEWS
Move to make NMC registration fee payable in instalments next year By Kat Keogh
@katkeogh
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Nurses could be allowed to pay their annual registration fee in instalments under proposals put forward by the nursing regulator. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is considering whether to introduce a phased payment scheme for the £100 registration fee, which nurses have to pay in one go. The NMC’s current legislation does not allow payment by instalments.
The regulator has long been under pressure to offer the option to help nurses spread the cost of the fee. Nurses are barred from practising until they have paid. The NMC will decide whether to consult on changing the regulator’s legislation at a meeting this week. Any changes would come into force next spring. The move comes as nurses face the prospect of the fee increasing to £120 in March 2015.
An NMC spokesperson told Nursing Standard: ‘The NMC will decide whether or not to proceed with a public consultation on these rule changes. ‘If they proceed, a formal consultation will take place throughout the summer, with any changes being implemented next year. ‘A period of systems and policy development will then follow, after which phased payments will be introduced.’ In 2013, the Commons health select committee called on the regulator to introduce instalments to help nurses better manage the cost of registration.
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Consultation
Skydiving jump in aid of bladder scanner A group of nurses and healthcare assistants at University Hospital of North Staffordshire will be hoping they have a head for heights when they take part in a sponsored skydive. The 15-strong team from the hospital’s acute unit will be jumping 13,000 feet to raise £6,000 to buy a new bladder scanner for their unit. Matron Alan Bethell helped to organise the stunt, which will take place at Tilstock Airfield in Shropshire in September. The team has embarked on an exercise and healthy eating drive in
preparation for the jump. Healthcare assistant Sara Stubbs, one of those taking part, has lost more than two stone over five months. Mr Bethell said: ‘There were a few people who signed up to it who I never thought would try something like this. ‘The great thing is that a lot of them have lost weight to take part. You have to fit a certain criteria to do the jump, so they have become fitter and healthier.’ To donate go to www.justgiving.com/ UHNS-Acute-Medical-Team
The Health and Care Professions Council, which regulates allied health workers, charges £160 every two years, but allows registrants to pay in four instalments of £40. Nurses have also called for the option to be made available in the consultation on the registration fee increase, which closes this week. More than 4,300 responses have been received so far, and a final decision on the fee will be made in October. Go to www.nmc-uk.org/ Get-involved/Consultations/ Fee-consultation
Readers have their say on Nursing Standard Facebook ‘I would welcome the chance to pay in instalments. It’s hard to pay it in one lump sum.’ ‘I don’t welcome the exorbitant and downright unfair and unjust fee any which way.’
NURSING STANDARD julyNo 30other :: voluses 28 without no 48 ::permission. 2014 9 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 14, 2015. For personal use only. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Move to make NMC registration fee payable in instalments next year By Kat Keogh
@katkeogh
XXXXXXXXXX
Nurses could be allowed to pay their annual registration fee in instalments under proposals put forward by the nursing regulator. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is considering whether to introduce a phased payment scheme for the £100 registration fee, which nurses have to pay in one go. The NMC’s current legislation does not allow payment by instalments.
The regulator has long been under pressure to offer the option to help nurses spread the cost of the fee. Nurses are barred from practising until they have paid. The NMC will decide whether to consult on changing the regulator’s legislation at a meeting this week. Any changes would come into force next spring. The move comes as nurses face the prospect of the fee increasing to £120 in March 2015.
An NMC spokesperson told Nursing Standard: ‘The NMC will decide whether or not to proceed with a public consultation on these rule changes. ‘If they proceed, a formal consultation will take place throughout the summer, with any changes being implemented next year. ‘A period of systems and policy development will then follow, after which phased payments will be introduced.’ In 2013, the Commons health select committee called on the regulator to introduce instalments to help nurses better manage the cost of registration.
NORTHCLIFFE MEDIA LTD
Consultation
Skydiving jump in aid of bladder scanner A group of nurses and healthcare assistants at University Hospital of North Staffordshire will be hoping they have a head for heights when they take part in a sponsored skydive. The 15-strong team from the hospital’s acute unit will be jumping 13,000 feet to raise £6,000 to buy a new bladder scanner for their unit. Matron Alan Bethell helped to organise the stunt, which will take place at Tilstock Airfield in Shropshire in September. The team has embarked on an exercise and healthy eating drive in
preparation for the jump. Healthcare assistant Sara Stubbs, one of those taking part, has lost more than two stone over five months. Mr Bethell said: ‘There were a few people who signed up to it who I never thought would try something like this. ‘The great thing is that a lot of them have lost weight to take part. You have to fit a certain criteria to do the jump, so they have become fitter and healthier.’ To donate go to www.justgiving.com/ UHNS-Acute-Medical-Team
The Health and Care Professions Council, which regulates allied health workers, charges £160 every two years, but allows registrants to pay in four instalments of £40. Nurses have also called for the option to be made available in the consultation on the registration fee increase, which closes this week. More than 4,300 responses have been received so far, and a final decision on the fee will be made in October. Go to www.nmc-uk.org/ Get-involved/Consultations/ Fee-consultation
Readers have their say on Nursing Standard Facebook ‘I would welcome the chance to pay in instalments. It’s hard to pay it in one lump sum.’ ‘I don’t welcome the exorbitant and downright unfair and unjust fee any which way.’
NURSING STANDARD julyNo 30other :: voluses 28 without no 48 ::permission. 2014 9 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 14, 2015. For personal use only. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
