NMC responds to Health Committee report ‘Brexit and health and social care—people and process’

Jackie Smith Chief Executive and Registrar of the NMC said:

“We welcome this report from the Health Committee which acknowledges and agrees with the priorities we identified ahead of Brexit negotiations.  

“The Committee has clearly recognised the existing constraints for assessing the competence of EU trained nurses and midwives. They see the need for change in this area which would bring parity between the processes for the registration of EU and non-EU nurses and midwives. However, we believe it is essential that any changes come as part of the UK’s Brexit negotiations and not separately. The opportunity to make such important changes in the future may be significantly reduced once negotiations have concluded.    

“The Committee has also recognised the critical importance of retaining shared fitness to practise data between the UK and EU countries following Brexit. These alert systems are an essential part of the process for identifying potentially unsafe practitioners and are vital to ensuring public protection.

“As an organisation we recognise the invaluable role EU trained nurses and midwives play in the UK health and care workforce and we will continue to work closely with the Department of Health to understand the implications of the UK’s negotiated withdrawal on our work.”

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Notes for editors

1. The Nursing and Midwifery Council exists to protect the public through the regulation of over 685,000 nurses and midwives in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. As well as maintaining a register of nurses and midwives allowed to practise in the UK, we also set standards of education, training, conduct and performance so that nurses and midwives can deliver high quality healthcare. We make sure that nurses and midwives keep their skills and knowledge up to date through a regular revalidation process. Nurses and midwives must uphold our professional standards and we have clear and transparent processes to investigate nurses and midwives who fall short of these standards.
2. For media enquiries, please contact NMC media team, media@nmc-uk.org 020 7681 5409.