The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has received its highest ever rating in its annual performance review from the Professional Standards Authority.
The nursing regulator met nine of the 10 targets and standards for fitness to practice. The only standard not met referred to the time frame in which fitness to practice cases are dealt with taking into account the complexity and type of case and the conduct of both sides. The Professional Standards Authority expressed concerns that the amount of time between an initial complaint and the conclusion of a fitness to practice cases had increased, despite noting improvements in other areas.
‘Significant improvements have been made to our fitness to practise function this year with further improvements planned over the coming year,’ said Jackie Smith, chief executive of the NMC. ‘I recognise there is still more work to be done in order to meet all of the standards in the future.'
In other areas, the NMC was uniformly successful, with the organisation meeting all of the standards for guidance, training, and registration.
‘It is pleasing to see that the report recognises all that has been achieved this year, including the introduction of revalidation, which has proved very successful,’ added Ms Smith.