A recent high-profile case “underlined the limitations of “Nurse” not being a protected title”.
Protecting the “nurse” title is looking increasingly likely after several key nursing leaders have declared their support for the campaign.
Under current legislation, only the term “Registered Nurse” is legally protected requiring registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). This is in contrast, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, dietitian and paramedic, which are all legally protected titles and professionals must be registered with The Health and Care Professions Council in order to use them.
The proposals follow a recent high-profile case which “underlined the limitations of “Nurse” not being a protected title”.
Protection.
A petition, started by healthcare academic Alison Leary, calls upon the Government to introduce legal protections to the title has reached nearly 30,000 signatures.
Several Chief Nursing Officers (CNO) have now declared their support for the campaign.
In a statement on social media today, CNO for England Ruth May said: “I am supportive of protecting the nurse title and welcome the Department of Health and Social Care’s review as part of the government review of the regulation of health professionals.
“The protection of a professional title provides assurance that someone using that title is competent and safe to practise and I am committed to doing all we can to strengthen protection of the public.
“It is important that any change is carefully considered and I look forward to working with the Department of Health and Social Care on this.”
In 2018, Ms May’s predecessor also made a commitment to protect the title.
The CNOs for Wales and Scotland have also said they welcome any changes that could improve patient care.
Protecting the public.
There have been several recent instances of struck-off nurses continuing to use the title, which has led to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to also support the call.
In a formal response to the Department of Health and Social Care, they wrote; “Recent high profile cases have underlined the limitations of “Nurse” not being a protected title.
“It is essential that we have the right protected titles and associated enforcement powers to be able to take effective action to protect the public and maintain confidence in the professions.
“We would welcome a further discussion with DHSC to ensure that our protected titles and enforcement powers are fit for purpose under the new legislation.”
