Fitness to practise cases resolved at fastest rate in nearly five years

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is resolving fitness to practise cases at the fastest pace since early 2021, with nearly three-quarters of cases now concluded within 15 months.

The NMC’s key fitness to practise metric – the proportion of cases resolved end-to-end within 15 months – reached 71.9% in September and 71.8% in October, the highest levels since February 2021. This marks a significant improvement from July 2023, when the figure stood at just 60.8%.

The progress comes despite a sharp increase in referrals. In April 2024, the rolling average stood at 499 referrals per month. By late 2025, this had risen to 581 per month – a 16% increase. In October alone, the regulator received 642 referrals.

NMC teams have responded by accelerating decision-making. In September, 1,038 fitness to practise decisions were made, followed by 1,091 in October. This compares to an average of 799 decisions per month across 2024.

The regulator attributes the improvement to its fitness to practise plan, a wide-ranging programme designed to enhance fairness, timeliness, and quality of decisions. Sustained progress suggests the plan is delivering results, even under growing caseload pressures.

Despite the welcome gains, many cases still take two to three years to conclude. The NMC’s target of 80% of cases resolved within 15 months remains unmet, underscoring the scale of work ahead.

Paul Rees MBE, Chief Executive and Registrar, said:

“Thanks to the hard work of NMC teams delivering our fitness to practise plan, we are gradually making fitness to practise more timely, with around 72% of cases being resolved within 15 months, end-to-end.

This steady progress is good news for everyone involved in our processes. But we are not complacent and know that there is still a long way to go before we reach our target of 80%.”

Rees highlighted that improvements in fitness to practise are being pursued alongside wider reforms, including modernising the Code and revalidation process, reviewing practice learning, and developing new standards for advanced practitioners. He also emphasised ongoing work to build a “positive, empowering and inclusive” internal culture.

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