Over the weekend, The Independent revealed that dozens of universities are facing action from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) over concerns that nurses are graduating without completing the mandatory hours required by the regulator.
While universities are ultimately responsible for this oversight, I discovered that the NMC was first alerted to the issue in 2021. This means that three years' worth of graduate nurses, midwives, and nursing associates may not have met the required standards.
I've received some criticism for this piece, with readers challenging the idea that graduates were unsafe to work in the NHS. There is as yet no suggestion that students were incompetent. However, the UK currently requires 2,300 hours of training – those are the rules.
It is true that this requirement is being reviewed, given it was based on an EU directive that the UK no longer follows. For example, other countries like Australia require fewer hours, raising questions about whether the regulation is too strict in the first place. Regardless, the fact that a potential risk to public safety and student nurse well-being was flagged and not addressed three years ago is concerning and highlights broader issues within the NMC.
Some NMC whistleblowers suggested that the department responsible didn't have enough resources to address the issue. Staff also raised concerns with senior leadership in 2021 and 2022 but claimed no action was taken. Sound familiar? It's an unfortunate common thread in many of the health scandals I uncover.
As this story continues to unfold, this week the regulator held a meeting with staff, which I managed to get a briefing on. Rise Associates, which reviewed the watchdog, maintained confidence in the current leadership's ability to address the problems. However, from the tone of the questions from NMC workers, it's clear the board has lost the confidence of the staff.
I'll keep Health Check subscribers abreast of the latest updates on this developing story as it happens.
