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Celebrating nursing through the ages An exhibition illustrating how the nursing profession has changed over the decades opened last week using material from the RCN archives. Organisers hope that the exhibition at the Heritage Centre in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, will inspire people to join the profession. The display, which runs until March 20, has been organised by NHS Ayrshire and Arran, in partnership with North Ayrshire Council’s Heritage Centre and the RCN archives.

NMC denies prioritising new FtP cases to meet government target By Katie Osborne

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The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s success in reducing the time it takes to handle fitness to practise cases has not been achieved by neglecting older cases, according to its chief executive Jackie Smith. Ms Smith was responding to concerns voiced by MPs on the Commons health committee during an accountability hearing with the regulator last week. It follows an announcement by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) that it has exceeded a target to get 90 per cent of fitness to practise (FtP) cases to a hearing within six months of being referred to the investigating committee.

£20 million grant

Achieving the target was a condition of a £20 million grant from the Department of Health given to the NMC in 2012 to help it deal with the increase in FtP cases. But committee chair Sarah Wollaston said several MPs had written to the NMC with concerns about its failure to clear the backlog of historic cases.

Questioning Ms Smith, she said: ‘Is there a danger that, in wanting to meet the target, you are prioritising new cases that are near the time limit at the expense of some individuals whose lives are being severely disrupted by the fact that they cannot practice at the moment because they are waiting for a hearing?’ But Ms Smith said the regulator had attempted to clear the backlog of historic cases first. She said: ‘It is unacceptable that we take years to dispose of cases and I am sorry about those cases where we have done that. But we have not neglected older cases to put the newer ones first. We have not chosen an easier route.’ There are currently 57 cases that are more than three years old. The oldest case, which is two cases linked together, is seven years old. The NMC says that particular case has been delayed by circumstances beyond its control, including legal proceedings and third party investigations. A spokesperson said the case is expected to conclude early this year. An annual review of the NMC by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) last year found the regulator had

failed to meet seven of the 24 key performance standards set by the authority in 2013/14. In addition, it found that FtP cases were taking too long, customer service was poor and there had been serious breaches of data protection.

Outdated framework

Ms Smith said without a review of the law relating to the regulation of healthcare professionals, the NMC was stuck in an outdated and inflexible framework preventing it from dealing with cases more swiftly. She renewed her plea to the health committee to press the government to enact the Law Commission Bill before the end of the next Parliament. The bill would introduce a clear and consistent framework, which would enable the NMC to handle FtP cases more speedily. But Conservative MP for Bosworth David Tredinnick said he was ‘slightly alarmed’ to hear the NMC’s ‘drifting towards the edge of a cliff philosophy’ and urged Ms Smith to consider how the regulator could continue working within the existing framework in the event that the bill was not introduced.

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NMC denies prioritising new FtP cases to meet government target.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council's success in reducing the time it takes to handle fitness to practise cases has not been achieved by neglecting olde...
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