NMC: Half of nurses reluctant to report elderly abuse in care.
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Thursday, 30, Aug 2007 12:00
Regulator says nurses must not be silent witnesses to abuse The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) the regulator for all UK nurses and midwives, today reminded the professions that they could be in breach of their code of professional conduct should they fail to protect the interests of vulnerable patients.
The regulator was responding to a survey conducted for Help the Aged, which showed that more than half of nurses are reluctant to report the abuse of an elderly person in their care for fear of misinterpreting the abuse, confrontation with the abuser or upsetting the victim.
The NMC is responsible for registering all nurses and midwives in the UK.
One of the conditions of registration is acceptance of the obligations of the NMC code of conduct. The code, which sets the standards for conduct, performance and ethics for the professions, states that:
"You must act quickly to protect patients and clients from risk if you have good reason to believe that you or a colleague, from your own or another profession, may not be fit to practise for reason of conduct, health or competence. You should be aware of the terms of legislation that offer protection for people who raise concerns about health and safety issues."
It continues:
"Where you cannot remedy circumstances in the environment of care that could jeopardise standards of practice, you must report them to a senior person with sufficient authority to manage them and also, in the case of midwifery, to the supervisor of midwives."
Commenting on the survey, Susan Aitkenhead, NMC Professional Advisor in Support of Policy and Strategy, said:
"All nurses and midwives have the duty to report incidents of abuse or malpractice. The interests of vulnerable patients must come before registrants' concerns about making a fuss, or making themselves unpopular. Nurses should act as advocates of patients, not as silent witnesses to abuse.
"The NHS and the independent sector have established procedures to protect staff wanting to raise such concerns. However, alternative channels are available for nurses who are unable or unwilling to use their employers' procedures. These include the police, social services, care home regulators and campaigning organisations such as Help the Aged or Action on Elder Abuse. Nurses can also use the NMC's professional advisory service to seek advice or get advice from unions such as the Royal College of Nursing or UNISON.
"Staying silent or turning a blind eye to the abuse of a vulnerable person in a care home or hospital is simply not an option for anyone working as a
nurse in the UK. Doing nothing is a betrayal of the trust and confidence
that patients have in nurses. It could also result in a charge of serious misconduct - and that could result in a caution or even being struck off the register."
Ends
Notes for Editors
1. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the UK regulator
for two professions, nursing and midwifery. The primary purpose of the NMC is protection of the public. It does this through maintaining a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses eligible to practise within the UK and by setting standards for their education, training and conduct. Currently the number of registrants exceeds 682,000.
The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (The Order), sets out the NMC's role and responsibilities.
2. The NMC's Code of Professional Conduct is currently under
consultation. You can comment on the new draft version of the code by visiting before Friday 21 September.
3. For media enquiries, please contact Polly Kettenacker, Press
and Public Affairs Officer on polly.Kettenacker@nmc-uk.org or 0207 462 5884.
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Polly Kettenacker
Press and Public Affairs Officer
Nursing and Midwifery Council
23 Portland Place
London W1B 1PZ
Tel.: 020 7462 5874
polly.kettenacker@nmc-uk.org
www.nmc-uk.org