Possible three yearly checks for nurses and midwives under new scheme

Midwives and nurses working in the United Kingdom may face checks by patients, work colleagues and managers every three years in a new scheme proposed by The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

At the moment, nurses and midwives need to renew their fitness to practice, but following a number of disciplinary cases and the fallout from the Francis Report which looked into the issues raised at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, the NMC is keen to start a new process known as revalidation.

Under the proposed scheme, nurses and midwives will face the same kind of checks as Doctors (although they go through revalidation every five years) and will receive feedback on their performance, with those who are not up to scratch facing being prevented from working with patients.

There are around 670,000 midwives and nurses working in the UK and the revalidation process will be part of the normal appraisal system from 2015 if it is endorsed by the governing body of the NMC.  If the scheme gets the go ahead, there will be a consultation period in 2014.


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Aspiring Nurses try out Health Care Assistant Roles in NHS Pilot

200 Health Care Assistants (HCA) are working on the wards to get a taste of life as a nurse before starting their degree courses in a new initiative by the NHS.

NHS Careers reports that six pilot areas in England are involved in the new project, put into place following the recommendations in the Francis Inquiry (which looked at the problems encountered at the Mid Staffordshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust).

The aim is to equip future nurses with the necessary skills they will need to successfully undertake their degree studies after experiencing life in a real ward or care environment. Of course, it will also make sure the student nurses feel that nursing is the correct career for them as they will see the reality of caring for ill and sometimes demanding patients as well as the need to work as part of a team, whilst being busy and under pressure.

The universities that the students apply to will be able to get reassurance from the nursing staff within the hospital that the applicant has the correct abilities and manner to be successful in their career as a nurse.

The Local Education and Training boards involved in the pilot are:

• West Midlands
• East Midlands
• East of England
• North Central and East London
• North East
• North West

The first cohort of Health Care Assistants are in place from September 2013 and will not only be working in a hospital environment, but also in GP practices and mental health units.

Health Care Assistants are normally paid as Band 2 staff within the NHS, with a salary scale of £14,294 up to £17,425, so the scheme will allow the aspiring nurses to save a little before they start their course as well as gain valuable experience!


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