NMC responds to claims of a ‘culture of fear’ at regulator
Posted 27 September 2023 - 17:06
Whistleblower alleges ‘deep-seated toxic conduct’ within NMC that delays or skews fitness to practise investigations; regulator says it has ‘taken steps to strengthen our ways of working’
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has issued an apology after a whistleblower raised concerns about a ‘culture of fear’ at the regulator, which allegedly results in nurses accused of abuse being allowed to continue working on the register for years.
The regulator has promised an investigation following an article published in the Independent on 26 September in which one whistleblower alleged the ‘deep-seated toxic conduct’ within the NMC is leading to delayed or skewed investigations.
They drew comparisons with the case of nurse convicted of murder Lucy Letby where colleagues’ concerns about her were ignored by management; the whistleblower claims the NMC is similarly defensive and determined to ‘preserve its reputation’.
Claim that public is being put at risk
The whistleblower added that a culture of fear within the NMC – in which staff were scared of making mistakes and afraid to be honest when errors were made – was putting the public at risk, as nurses who are not fit to practise are being left on the register without sanction, or are receiving inadequate sanctions.
In an NMC council meeting in Cardiff today, council chair David Warren reportedly said they intend to enlist an independent expert to consider the criticisms of the organisation’s culture and concerns relating to some fitness to practise (FtP) decisions:
Large backlog of fitness to practise cases
An independent internal investigation of the regulator carried out last year found that staff at the NMC were working under huge pressure because of the backlog of FtP cases, and there were allegations of racism, sexism and misogyny within the NMC, according to the Independent.
The publication also gave several examples of nurses accused of abuse or assaults on patients, who were able to work freely on the register for months or years without restrictions before their FtP hearing.
There are currently 5,339 FtP cases waiting to resolved by the NMC, with more than 720 referred more than three years ago.
‘Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated at the NMC’
Responding to the story, NMC chief executive Andrea Sutcliffe said: ‘First and foremost, I’m sorry there’s concern from anyone about our culture at the NMC.
‘Of course, there is absolutely no place for sexual misconduct in health and care or the wider society, and we are equally clear that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated at the NMC.
‘We’ve taken steps to strengthen our ways of working in these areas, as well as in fitness to practise more broadly. However, we know we have much more to do and work is actively underway.’
NMC will investigate claims against organisation
Ms Sutcliffe added that the regulator would ‘carefully investigate’ all the concerns raised and apologised for the continued FtP backlog.
According to the latest NMC council papers, the volume of case referrals by employers has significantly increased in recent months, with 2,227 new referrals since April.
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