Protecting the Public and Maintaining Care Standards: The Nursing and Midwifery Council

With reference to adult nursing, discuss how the Nursing and Midwifery Council seeks to protect the public and maintain care standards.

In this article, the speaker will start by addressing the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)'s key roles , which they seek to protect patients and service users as well as improve standards of care across the UK. The author would address briefly when the NMC regulations were first created, changes made to the regulations since they were first written, their priorities and the code of practise they laid out for which adult nurses would obey throughout their daily practise. The writer should address the CQC and discuss this body's priorities and intent. We will then go on to explain what the procedure is for securing a position in the path of a nursing degree: what is required of them in their daily duties, together with mandatory preparation and practise lessons, during their degree and before they can enrol with the council and apply for their PIN number. The author will also discuss the value of secrecy and how privacy is to be considered when using social media, as well as what the protocols are if confidentiality is violated or the rules are overlooked. I will then conclude this assignment by drawing up a summary of all what was discussed throughout this assignment.

During the time of 1984 the United Kingdom central council (UKCC) created the first code of conduct for midwifes, nurses and health visitors which was the first-time high expectations for professionals in practice. This was created to ensure the public are protected through standards of care and inform them of the standard of professional conduct that is expected of them whilst they are being cared for. (Brooker and Waugh, 2013) The regulatory body for nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom is the nursing and midwifery council (NMC). The NMC was first established under the 2001 Nurses and Midwifery Order and opened in 2002 with the primary purpose of protecting the public. (Thewlis of the year 2003). It has since been republished with revisions to the legislation in 2008 and again in 2015. The body's role is to protect the public by setting standards of practise, education, mandatory training and performance to allow nurses and midwives to deliver the best quality of health care during their careers. These are the expectations that could be required from practitioners by patients and members of the public while being cared for. (NMC, November 2015). The aim of the code is to advise the nurses and midwives registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of their expected standard of professional behaviour in their daily practise as well as to inform the public, employers and other professionals of the standard of behaviour they would expect from a registered practitioner. (Waugh and Brooker, 2013).

How does the nursing and midwifery council regulate “We set the standards of education, training and conduct that nurses and midwives need to deliver high quality healthcare consistently throughout their careers, We ensure that nurses and midwives keep their skills and knowledge up to date and uphold the standards of their professional code” (https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/standards/nmc-old-code-2008.pdf)

Although the NMC is responsible for regulating the quality of licenced practitioners, they are not responsible for regulating hospitals and other treatment facilities such as nursing homes and residential homes. This is also referred to as the CQC's position of the Care Quality Commission. The CQC is a statutory health and social care authority. Their goal is to guarantee that health and social care agencies in England provide all service users with secure, efficient, caring and high-quality care and to enable such facilities to change if they are found to have shortcomings and inconsistencies with their activities. To do this, the regulators of the Care Quality Commission go to hospitals, care homes and other nursing facilities to audit and monitor the care provided to ensure that they meet the basic quality and safety requirements. Researchers then publish their findings and provide these programmes ' quality reviews to help people determine where they want treatment. (2016 CQC).

Once an adult nurse has trained the task of delivering patient care over the age of 18. Upon certification and after obtaining their PIN number from the Nursing and Midwifery Commission, they will work in hospitals as well as other care facilities such as a home for people, care centres and nursing homes. It is important to re-register and refresh the PIN every three years. (The 2016 NMC). Until registering with the NMC, students are required to undergo mandatory training sessions. (The RCN, 2015). Mandatory training is mandatory training,' according to the Royal College of Nursing (2015), which is decided by an agency to be necessary for the safe and efficient delivery of services. This method of education is aimed at reducing operational risks and following local or national priorities and standards of state. Some of these workshops may include avoidance of illnesses, instruction on how to insert and extract a catheter, advise on whistling, embracing basic life, and defending vulnerable adults. They can also take additional classes upon graduation to specialise in a specific area such as cancer care, women's health, accident and emergency, critical care, nurse education, medical counselling, or nursing at work. (2015). (RNC).

All of the UK's nursing programmes are aimed at providing healthy, competent, qualified and caring providers who can provide appropriate evidence-based treatment. (Waugh and Booker, 2013). Anyone applying for a nursing degree is first sent through an application process that involves an interview to be sure they have the principles and qualifications they need to become a nurse. We also need to undergo an occupational health test and pass a criminal record check in order to be considered eligible for a potential nurse's job.

Brooker and Waugh (2013) reports'' Adult nurses are primarily responsible for health promotion and holistic treatment for physically ill and disabled people with high addiction rates in hospitals and community settings.'' The code developed for adult nurses has the same values that exist within the discipline in all other areas. It is crucial for a nurse to provide efficient healthcare to be conscious of and have a good understanding of the medical meanings and values of their own and others. (Waugh and Booker, 2013). While practitioners, all registered nurses are personally responsible for their work for their acts and omissions and must always be able to justify their actions. Whether regarding their personal life or in their professional practise, they should always behave lawfully. (Waugh and Brooker, 2013).

A vital part of their daily duties is for nurses and other health professionals who are licenced with the NMC under privacy policies and procedures in the workplace. Every day, adult physicians, midwives and other clinicians receive information about the conditions, medications, history and care of patients. Such information should be kept private and should not be shared or spoken of without permission. The word privacy applies to patient data to Price (2016). He or she entrusts it to the nurse for safekeeping once the patient has exchanged personal information. This data is the person and is not constantly monitored by patients. Patients could be left exposed to information shared with nurses. The right to privacy is an expansion of the privacy clause. It is no less important as information is shared and it still reflects the individual. Even after their death, honouring and preserving the patient's data remains an obligation. The RCN (2015) reported that'' Confidentiality not only covers things like the treatment and prognosis of a patient / client.'' In other words, it could also provide personal information like name, age and address of their house.

A guidance on how to use social media respectfully when relating to privacy is also included in the Nursing and Midwifery Council code. It is important for a nurse to preserve integrity and be responsible for what they choose on social networking sites to post and publish. We should not post any of these pages with pictures or patient information or their treatments and diseases. (NMC, November 2015). In doing so, they automatically faced being deleted from the register and their PIN number was permanently removed from the register. Same with any other situation that violates secrecy or goes beyond the regulatory body's regulations. In a case of them breaching confidentiality which may lead to the nurses or the professionals being struck off as wells as being taken to court.

In this assignment, the writer discusses the key roles of the regulatory body of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, addressing the Council's primary purpose when it was first formed, reforms that have been made and how they seek to protect the community and improve standards of care throughout the United Kingdom. The writer listed what is required of them in their daily practise and throughout their career as an adult nurse's duty; whistle being recorded with the NMC. She also spoke about the required education that an adult nurse is supposed to undergo before they can apply to the council for their PIN number as well as any additional training that they can receive afterwards. The writer has talked about the importance of privacy while using social media and the dangers of violating secrecy or looking at the NMC's regulations. With respect to all the information provided in the main body, I am sure that patients and service users could become at serious risk of wrongdoing without the regulations defined by the regulatory body. The criteria agreed by the council of nursing and midwifery give the public peace of mind in the understanding that their rights are being respected and that they can be handled with faith as well as by well-trained and qualified health practitioners.

References

• Booker, you know, C. And Waugh, you know, A. (2013) Medical foundations: principles of clinical nursing. 2nd ed: Mosby / Elsevier, pp3-143, Edinburgh.
• Who we are Care Quality Commission (CQC) (2016) Who we are? Online]. Cqc.org.uk. From January 8, 2017]. Available at: < http:/www.cqc.org.uk / content / who-we-are>.
• Network on Nursing and Midwifery (NMC) (2015) Guidance on the conscientious use of social media. Online]. NMC.org.uk. From 7 January 2017]. < https:/www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/siteocuments/nmc-publications/social-media-guidance.pdf > is available at:
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2015) Code: Professional requirements for nurses and midwives in training and behaviour. NMC. Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2016) Check your registration. Online]. Nmc.org.uk. From January 8, 2017]. Valid at: < https:/www.nmc.org.uk / registration / staying-on - the-register / renewing-your-registration/>.
• Price, B. Price. (2015) Confidentiality of the client. Nursing Style, pp. 50-57, 29(22), [ online]. From January 8, 2017]. < http:/journals.rcni.com / doi / full/10.7748/ns.29.22.50. e9579>.
• Royal College of Nursing (RNC) (2015) Become a nurse | Royal College of Nurse. The Royal College of Nursing, [online]. [Accessed 5 January 2017]. Available at: .
• Royal College of Nursing (RNC) (2015) Confidentiality. First Steps, [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2017]. Available at: .
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2015) Guidance on using social media responsibly. NMC.org.uk, [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2017]. Available at: .
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2015) Our role. Nmc.org.uk, [online]. [Accessed 4 January 2017]. Available at: .