NMC building positive, inclusive culture one year into transformation plan

In March 2025, the NMC published the plan to build a more connected, inclusive culture – underpinned by a strong anti-racist ethos.

In the first year, through the six pillars of the plan – strong and effective leadership; values-based decision-making; embedding EDI; ensuring psychological safety; enjoying work; regulatory fairness – there has been significant progress in turning the organisation around and building a new NMC.

There is still a way to go to create a consistently positive, empowering and inclusive culture right across the organisation, however the highlights of the achievements so far include:

• Rolling out targets to eliminate disparities in the NMC’s regulatory processes, based on ethnicity and gender – and consulting with a group of senior Black, Asian and minority ethnic registrants on concrete measures to meet the targets
• Increasing the ethnic diversity of panel members who make decisions at Fitness to Practise hearings – 26% of Lay Panel Members and 24% of Registrant Panel Members are now from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds, compared to 24% and 23%, respectively, in early 2025
• Publishing plans for rolling out anti-racism principles for nursing and midwifery education, to take effect from September 2026
• Launching new values of Integrity, Fairness, Respect, Equity and Effectiveness, and a behaviour framework for staff – a guide to how NMC colleagues make decisions, treat each other and carry out their responsibilities
• Rolling out one of the biggest coaching programmes for managers in any UK healthcare regulator – with all managers receiving coaching on values-based decision-making, embedding EDI, psychological safety and enjoyment at work, with this coaching receiving positive feedback from participants
• Promoting a ‘speak up’ culture – with 13 Empowered to Speak Up (ETSU) ambassadors, working closely with an independent external Empowered to Speak Up Guardian
• Issuing a behaviour guide – called Living out our Values – for all staff, saying what behaviours the NMC wants to see and what behaviour the NMC does not want to see
• Eighteen members of staff have been ‘exited’ from the organisation over the past 20 months for bullying or harassing others, or for being racist.

Paul Rees MBE, Chief Executive and Registrar, said:

“Over the past 13 months since we launched the Culture Transformation Plan, we’ve started to turn the corner, as an organisation. Underpinned by a strong anti-racist ethos, we’ve started the important task of building a new NMC.

“Under the plan, we’ve introduced a new set of NMC values, alongside a behaviour guide for all our staff, defining the behaviours we expect of everyone who works at the NMC.

“To help ensure lasting culture change, we’ve invested in one of the biggest coaching programmes for managers in any UK healthcare regulator – including compulsory coaching for managers on embedding equity, diversity and inclusion.

“We’ve also rolled out targets to drive fairness in our regulatory processes and for our staff.

“We’re beginning to see positive signs of change. I’m frequently stopped by staff in the corridor or on the fringes of meetings, saying how different things feel to a year ago.

“There’s still a long road ahead, but we’re making significant progress and becoming the strong and independent regulator that everyone wants to see.”

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