Redefining Regulation: Towards Equity and Social Justice

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2018) is the single, independent professional regulator for nurses, midwives and nursing associates in the United Kingdom (UK). It is a statutory body that is accountable to the UK Parliament, and one of the world's largest regulators of nursing. In addition, the NMC approves all educational programmes leading to a registration to practice as a nurse, midwife or nursing associate. Its purpose is to uphold professional standards through The Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates (Alexander 2021), protecting the public and inspiring public confidence. The NMC has a major role in building and maintaining a strong safety culture in health, and is the body charged with investigating allegations of poor or unprofessional practice against registrants, through Fitness to Practise (FtP) investigations.

There are currently 826,418, registrants on the NMC's register (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2024a; Nursing and Midwifery Council 2024b), all who have the right to expect fairness, equitable treatment and justice from their regulator. In July 2024, an independent culture review report (NMC 2024a) was released, which raised several key issues of concern. In this commentary, we reflect on the findings and ramifications of this report, consider ways in which the regulator could move towards more socially just ways of operating and the benefits that this change could bring to members of the public and to those on the register.