The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) is developing a “registrant care project” to support the mental health of registrants in the fitness to practise (FTP) process.
According to the NMBI, the project is part of its commitment to ensuring a “more compassionate, fair and efficient complaints management process for all involved”.
“Our registrant care project focuses on protecting registrants during the fitness to practise process to include not just fair treatment but also wellbeing and supports for their mental health,” an NMBI spokesperson told the Medical Independent.
“It will consider each part of the fitness to practise process and how these impact on registrants. It will also involve a review of correspondence and guidance to ensure consistency of engagement with all registrants and will give registrants an opportunity to provide feedback on their experience of the process.”
The NMBI has already developed a “witness care project”. It said the results of this project have demonstrated an improved experience for complainants, witnesses, and registrants.
The NMBI consulted with the UK General Medical Council, which had previously developed a witness care project. It also engaged with Prof Louise Wallace, Professor of Psychology and Health, Open University, who has carried out significant research in this field.
The spokesperson added: “NMBI developed a board-approved interactive witness care tool for engaging with witnesses, with linked correspondence templates and related guidance and rolled-out training sessions to ensure engagement with key stakeholders.”
The NMBI has a liaison officer in its FTP department to assist members of the public and registrants. It also funds an independent emotional support service, which is available to everyone involved in the FTP process.
Speaking to MI, NMBI CEO Ms Carolyn Donohoe said a key focus is reducing the length of the FTP process, while maintaining its integrity. Currently, the process takes approximately three to five years from receipt of complaint to communication of the outcome following inquiry. The NMBI is examining the process to identify areas where there are delays. The NMBI Statement of Strategy 2026–2029 aims to ensure inquiries start within 18 months of referral by the preliminary proceedings committee (PPC). It also sets out a maximum target of 30 months from the receipt of complaint to final outcome.
In 2024, the NMBI received 109 complaints about registered nurses and midwives (0.12 per cent of registrants).
During that year, the PPC made decisions on 100 complaints. Some 43 were deemed not to require any further action, while 45 were referred to the FTP committee. Undertakings and/or consents were accepted by the PPC in 12 cases.
See news interview, https://www.medicalindependent.ie/in-the-news/news-features/inter-regulatory-collaboration-on-nmbis-agenda/
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