The NMC Independent Culture Review published today makes for deeply unpleasant reading, with feedback from NMC staff such as “The organisation is truly appalling and it should be razed to the ground”.
The NMC has accepted each of 36 recommendations made by Nazir Afzal OBE and has issued a statement asserting that “Change starts now with our full acceptance of the recommendations that Nazir Afzal and his team have identified. This acceptance marks a turning point for the NMC”.
Although everybody is very focussed on the NMC today, I think an important question needs to be asked about the Professional Standards Authority or PSA. The PSA’s reviews of the NMC for each of the past three years found the NMC to be meeting 17 out of the 18 Standards of Good Regulation. The PSA’s findings cannot be correct if The Independent Culture Review is correct (which the NMC accepts it is).
This raises a serious question about the value and accuracy of PSA reviews. In my experience, the sad reality is that health and care regulators in the UK are not subject to any effective oversight. Many do not function at a high standard. This has grave repercussions for both patient safety and registrant wellbeing. I sincerely hope that regulation is something which Wes Streeting will look at as a matter of priority – it is not just the NHS that is currently broken.
The Independent Culture Review can be read here.