A petition has been launched urging the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to prioritize mental health support in its fitness to practise (FtP) operations. This follows concerns about the number of nurses who have died by suicide while under or having completed an FtP investigation.
The NMC has apologized for not always taking appropriate actions and accepted responsibility for the negative impact on registrants’ wellbeing. Campaign group NMC Watch started the petition, which has garnered over 400 signatures, with a goal of reaching 500. The NMC confirmed 16 suicides in the past six years during FtP processes, while NMC Watch believes the number is higher at 27, with six occurring in the last year.
According to reports, the petition called on the NMC to:
“We are calling on the NMC to put mental health support mechanisms at the forefront of their operations.”
It added:
“The mental health crisis amongst NMC registrants is real, documented, and heartbreaking.
“Making mental health support accessible and prioritised within the NMC’s system should not be an afterthought – it should be a fundamental, top priority.
“By not prioritising this issue, the NMC betrays its duty of care towards its registrants – the hardworking, compassionate individuals that form its very foundation.”
In response, executive director of professional regulation at the NMC, Lesley Maslen, said:
“We’re sorry to anyone whose wellbeing has suffered as a result of going through our fitness to practise processes.
“Our regulatory work brings us into contact with people in difficult or vulnerable circumstances, and we have not always taken the appropriate actions at the right point.
“To better protect people, we are now prioritising safeguarding in our regulatory work.’
She said the regulator had ‘invested significantly in our central safeguarding team by recruiting experts in safeguarding, mental health and training’ and that it had launched a ‘safeguarding hub to identify any support someone may need at the earliest point in our process’.
“We welcome the ongoing test and challenge from people who have lived experiences of our regulatory work,’ she added.
“It’s important that we’re held to account as we work towards our goal of improving the safety and quality of people’s experiences within our processes. We will work with professionals, our partners and the public to help us shape this critical work.”
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