A new bill to make ‘nurse’ a protected title will be presented to Parliament next week.
It aims to ensure only those registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) can legally use the title of ‘nurse’. Currently it is the title ‘registered nurse’ that is protected.
The Nurse (Use of Title) Bill will be introduced to Parliament by Labour MP Dawn Butler on Tuesday 11 February, under the House of Commons’ 10-minute rule.
It builds on, and is backed by, the #ProtectNurse campaign led by Professor Alison Leary and hopes to prevent the ‘misuse’ of the nurse title across healthcare.
Professor of healthcare and workforce modelling at London South Bank University, Professor Leary, told Nursing in Practice: ‘I fully support the bill to protect the title nurse in law.
‘Currently anyone can use the title nurse in the UK even if they have no nursing qualification, have been convicted or been struck off.
‘It is essential the public know who is treating them and to which regulator they can be held accountable to.’
In 2017 Professor Leary published research which found nursing job titles, like advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) and District Nurse, were being used by people with ‘no nursing qualifications or professional nursing registration’.
‘This means they cannot be held to account with a nursing regulator. As we researched further we were approached by patients and families who felt they had been misled, sometimes with catastrophic consequences,’ Professor Leary explained.
The #ProtectNurse campaign says this allows individuals without proper qualifications to use the title in health and social care settings.
It also means some individuals struck off the NMC register, including those with criminal convictions, can continue using the title without consequence.
Sam Donohue, acting executive director of professional practice at the NMC and a registered nurse, said ‘people should be able to assume’ that those using the title ‘nurse’ are on the NMC register and meet the regulator’s Code and standards.
She said the NMC was working with government ‘to deliver a substantial programme of regulatory reform’.
‘As part of this, we have been exploring changes to our legislation so that the title of ‘nurse’ becomes protected by law, meaning you cannot use this title unless you are on our register. The decision to update this legislation rests with ministers,’ Ms Donohue said.
The title ‘registered nurse’ is protected and reserved for those with the relevant qualifications who are on the NMC register, but the title of ‘nurse’ is not.
This is the second time the Labour MP has tried to introduce legislation around this issue, following an attempt to secure an amendment of the Health and Care Bill in 2021.
At the time, the move was dismissed by then health minister Edward Argar who accepted the need for ‘reassurance and clarity’ by protecting the nurse title, but refused to accept what he said was a ‘flawed’ amendment.
On her fresh attempt, Ms Butler said this week: ‘The public should be able to trust that when someone calls themselves a nurse, they have the right professional qualifications, training and accountability.
‘Right now, anyone can use the title — even those who have been struck off the NMC register for serious misconduct. This is unacceptable and risks patient safety.’
Ms Butler’s bill would recognise existing and protected titles such as ‘veterinary nurse’ and ‘dental nurse,’ which would not be affected.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) passed a resolution in favour of protecting the title at its annual Congress in 2022.
RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger this week said patients ‘deserve to know’ if they are being treated by a registered nurse.
‘The changes in this bill will provide better legal protections for nursing. This includes preventing those who have lost the right to be called nurses from legally continuing to do so,’ she added.
‘We will continue to urge government and parties across the political spectrum to get behind this campaign, ensuring our highly-skilled profession gets the respect it deserves.’
