How can we build trust in professional regulation?

Today, we’ve published the findings of research that asks people and professionals how regulation can better meet their expectations to help us build trust and confidence in what we do.

The research is helping to shape our next five-year strategy from 2020 to 2025.

Stonehaven, the agency who led the research, travelled across the UK to listen to the views of people and professionals in 21 focus groups, before testing its findings in surveys seeking input from more than 5,000 others. It asked questions that gave us an insight into the areas of our role (or potential areas) that resonate the most with the professions we regulate, and people we’re here to serve.

Key findings include:

• The public trust nurses and midwives above all other professionals – but fear the pressures of the health and social care system can hold them back.
• 92 percent of nurses and midwives want us to work to improve conditions to ‘make sure they have time to care’ – over and above any other.
• Most people believe the NMC is performing well – nurses scored us 76 out of 100 and midwives scored us 71 when asked how well we’re performing. The public scored us 82.
• 72 percent of registrants but only 49 percent of the public want us to consider the context of an incident before we take action through fitness to practise.
• Most people (66 percent of registrants and 57 percent of the public) want us to work to improve (as opposed to maintain) the consistency and safety of care.
• 21 percent of registrants and 20 percent of the public believe we should stick to our core role of regulating nurses, midwives and nursing associates as opposed to seeking a broader impact on the quality of health and care.

Download Building trust and confidence: What our audiences say about the key to better, safer care

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