NMC welcomes PSA Performance Review for 2020-2021

The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) has today published our performance review covering the year 2020–2021, an extraordinary year for nursing and midwifery. We met 17 of the 18 Standards of Good Regulation.

The pandemic continues to have an enormous impact on the nursing and midwifery professions and it’s also affected the way we regulate. A lot of our work in this reporting period focused on efforts to support our professions to provide the best care possible to the public, despite the most challenging of circumstances.

There’s much that we’re proud of in how we have adapted to support our professions over the past year, and we’re particularly pleased the PSA recognises those efforts in this report.

Responding to the publication of the PSA review, Andrea Sutcliffe CBE, our Chief Executive and Registrar, said:

“We welcome the report today which reflects our work over the past year – a year which has been so challenging for so many people.

“We are determined to regulate well, support our professions and the public and influence improvement in health and care. That’s why it’s important we continue to learn and improve, so we can protect the public and inspire confidence in the professions. I’m grateful for the hard work of my NMC colleagues and the support of our Council members.

“I’m particularly pleased that the PSA has recognised our commitment to diversity. Promoting diversity and challenging discrimination is a vital part of our work as a regulator. Our equality, diversity and inclusion plan sets out our ambitions in this vital area, and we will continue to collaborate with our partners to do things better. I’m grateful for their support and challenge over the last year.

“The increase in our fitness to practise caseload has been exacerbated as a result of the pandemic. We’re absolutely committed to reducing the caseload and making the right decisions at the right time. Addressing this as our top priority while maintaining our person centred approach will continue to be our focus in the coming months.

“The effects of Covid-19 will be with us all for some time, but we have solid foundations to build upon, as we work to promote safe, effective and kind nursing and midwifery practice, improving people’s health and wellbeing.”

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