NMC seeks views on future strategy

• New, bold plan to help NMC play a leading role in driving better, safer care
• Milestone moment as professional regulator seeks views to shape its future direction.

Around 100 professionals, people using services and partner organisations with an interest in the future of better, safer nursing and midwifery care join the NMC today as the regulator sets out its proposed 2020 to 2025 strategic themes for consultation.

This important milestone comes after the NMC’s ‘first phase’ of its future strategy development work. Since April, more than 2,500 individuals have shared their views on some of the key challenges facing health and social care, their impact on nursing and midwifery and what the NMC should be focussing on to become a better regulator.

This wealth of insight has been used to develop five strategic themes which will help shape the NMC’s next five-year strategy. The themes reflect the NMC’s ambition to be a progressive, professional regulator that can play a leading role in driving better, safer care and a more just, learning culture for the benefit of everyone involved.

The NMC is now seeking views on a number of potential priority areas of work that sit within the following strategic themes:

• Dynamic approach to shaping practice
• Building our relationship with the public
• Strengthening the relationship with our professions
• Using and sharing research, data and intelligence
• Closer collaboration with others

Andrea Sutcliffe CBE, Chief Executive and Registrar at the NMC, said:

"Today marks an important milestone for the NMC, and everyone using, delivering and working in nursing and midwifery services across health and social care, who expect and strive for the highest standards of care.

If we are to play our part in making sure safe, effective and kind care can be delivered, we must continue to improve. That’s why we’re working on a bold plan for 2020 to 2025 that can shape the practice of nurses, midwives and nursing associates to provide the better, safer care we all want to see. 

But we are not there yet. For the next twelve weeks, I hope as many people as possible will take the opportunity to test, challenge and have their say on our draft vision, themes and priorities for action – and help us agree a shared future direction for 2020 and beyond."

Dr Charlotte Augst, Chief Executive of National Voices, said:

“Nurses, midwives and nursing associates play a key role in how people experience health and care services. It is therefore important how they are supported and challenged to shape their work around what matters to people.

People want competent nursing and midwifery professionals to have enough time to treat them with kindness, as part of care that is person centred.

We look forward to continue working with the NMC to turn this ambition into reality.”

Anita Kaur, nursing associate, said:

“To help the public, for them to have confidence in health and social care, and to protect and support professionals like me, the NMC should regulate with understanding, kindness and compassion.

We need to work together more so standards are raised for people using services. Also so staff with the right skills and the right attitude to their work are hired. People need to have confidence that we are all working together and constantly making improvements that are based on evidence.”

Gill Walton, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said:

“This is a positive, and welcome vision from the NMC. It is one that the RCM supports and I urge midwives to respond to it. This will have a big impact on their professional life and on the care they deliver.

It is crucial that the strategy meets the needs of midwives as a distinct and separate profession from their nursing colleagues. It must also support leadership in the profession and a wider vision for ongoing education and training for midwives.

"Ultimately, and most importantly, it must support midwives to provide safe and high quality care for women, babies and their families.”

Health Minister, Stephen Hammond said:

“Nursing and midwifery are the cornerstones of our NHS.

Creating a more just, learning culture is a key part of our NHS Long Term Plan and we wholeheartedly support the NMC’s inclusive approach to developing the new strategy to deliver better, safer care.

“It’s important we work with the NHS and professional bodies to continually support our people to deliver the highest standards of care to our patients. This was demonstrated by our recent commitment to enable regulators to better support the professionalism of their registrants.”

Fiona McQueen, Chief Nursing Officer for Scotland, said:

“All of us will be cared for by a nurse or midwife at some point in our life, and the NMC has a critical role in making sure these experiences are as good as they possibly can be.

We are already facilitating high-level engagement with key stakeholders across Scotland, and I would encourage everyone with an interest in the regulation of nursing and midwifery professions to take this opportunity to submit your views to the NMC.”

For more information – and to provide feedback – on the NMC’s strategic theme proposals, visit www.nmc.org.uk/shapingthefuture

The closing date for all responses is 16 October 2019.

From October, the NMC will be developing its final strategy ready for Council approval in March 2020 followed by implementation from April.

Twitter: @nmcnews #FutureNMC

ENDS

Notes for editors

1. For media enquiries, please contact NMC press office on 020 7681 5415 or email media@nmc-uk.org.
2. Follow the NMC on Twitter @nmcnews
3. We are the independent regulator for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. We hold a register of all the 690,000 nurses, midwives and nursing associates who can practise in the UK. Better and safer care for people is at the heart of what we do, supporting the healthcare professionals on our register to deliver the highest standards of care. We make sure nurses, midwives and nursing associate have the skills they need to care for people safely, with integrity, expertise, respect and compassion, from the moment they step into their first job.
4. Learning does not stop the day nurses, midwives and nursing associates qualify. To promote safety and public trust, we require professionals to demonstrate throughout their career that they are committed to learning and developing to keep their skills up to date and improve as practitioners. We want to encourage openness and learning among healthcare professions to improve care and keep the public safe. On the occasions when something goes wrong and people are at risk, we can step in to investigate and take action, giving the people affected and their families a voice as we do so.