The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said it has ‘no plans’ to pursue a national inquiry into the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Responding to a letter demanding an inquiry from campaign group NMCWatch, a spokesperson for the DHSC said that despite having ‘no plans to undertake a national inquiry into the NMC’s operations and performance,’ the department does expect ‘swift and robust action’ to deliver on the recommendations for change set out in the recent Rise Associates report into the NMC.
July’s report, led by former public prosecutor Nazir Afzal, called for an ‘urgent turnaround plan’ to stop what was described as a ‘dysfunctional culture’ at the NMC.
Responding to the DHSC’s confirmation of ‘no plans’ for a national inquiry, Mr Afzal said while a national inquiry is a ‘matter for the DHSC’, he suspects many nurses and midwives ‘will be disappointed that real concerns are going to be ignored and continue to plague the sector’.
In an email sent to NMCWatch and seen by Nursing in Practice, the DHSC described the report as a ‘call for immediate action’ and acknowledged some of the steps the NMC have made since its publication.
It repeated the NMC’s plans to appoint an interim chief executive and registrar, with ‘a view to announcing the permanent successor before Christmas’.
‘The NMC will also co-opt one or more senior independent advisers to its Council. It has committed to increasing the challenge and support that the Council receives, to ensure the necessary cultural changes are delivered and to prevent a recurrence of the findings in the culture report,’ the email read.
It said that that the NMC has ‘committed to expanding resources for its safeguarding team’ (…), ‘to reduce the impact and risk of harm to individuals.’
The response comes after the Rise Associates review found that six nurses had taken their lives in the past year while under investigation by the NMC.
Last month, the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) wrote to health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, appealing for an ‘urgent independent review’ of the NMC and the ‘performance of its regulatory functions’.
In a letter to Mr Streeting, the QNI said the nursing profession had lost confidence in the NMC and no longer believes it can safeguard the public.
Nursing in Practice understands that the QNI’s calls for an inquiry remain unchanged.
Cathryn Watters, founder of the organisation NMCWatch, commented: ‘We are disappointed that despite nearly 150 signatures from our members and other members of the public voicing real-life experience of the NMC failings.
‘There has been no clear outline of action points following his meeting with the NMC recently other than the 36 recommendations by the Rise report. We would hope that there would be an action plan with key dates set for review and feedback if the Rise report is being taken seriously by government.’
The DHSC has been approached for comment.
