Nursing and midwifery regulator calls for supervision to be removed from its legislation
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Following an independent review of the regulation of midwives in the UK, the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (NMC) governing board today accepted the recommendation that statutory supervision should no longer be part of its legal framework.
The wider role that supervision plays is highly valued by many midwives who will look to sector leaders to take stock of what is good in current practice and options to carry it forward. The NMC is pleased to welcome that the chief nursing officers have agreed to play a leadership role in this transition.
Jackie Smith, NMC Chief Executive and Registrar, said:
“NMC Council is today calling for legislative change to give us direct control of regulatory decisions and allow others to take responsibility for the support and leadership of midwives.
“We will now work with the Department of Health in order to carry that recommendation forward.”
Bernard Jenkin MP, Chair of the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC), said:
“It has been over a year since the Ombudsman’s report highlighting conflict of interest in midwifery supervision and regulation that is potentially putting mothers and babies at risk. PASC is now following up on all the PHSO’s recommendations and it is past time to implement this report in full. We strongly urge the Government to take the steps necessary to enact these changes promptly.”
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Julie Mellor, said:
“This landmark decision hails as a result of families making complaints to the Ombudsman Service. We all owe them a debt of gratitude as their actions will improve the safety of mothers and babies in the future.
“Our midwifery report, based on complaints we received about local midwifery investigations, found that the lives of mothers and babies could be put at risk because supervisors of midwives have two inherently conflicting roles. They investigate serious incidents on behalf of the regulator whilst often being responsible for the development and support of these same midwives, who may also be their peers. As a result safety may not always be at the heart of local investigations and lessons from serious incidents involving midwives may not be learnt.
“Today’s decision will lead to a more modern and robust regulation of the midwifery profession with safety at the heart of what it does.
“We now look to the next government to take forward the legislative changes needed at the earliest opportunity.”
