The Nursing and Midwifery (Amendment) Order 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order makes various amendments to the framework legislation for the regulation of nurses and midwives, the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (“the principal Order”), and contains some consequential changes. Many of the amendments relate to the governance arrangements for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Schedule 1 contains the amendments to the principal Order. The NMC is to be reconstituted as provided for by Order of the Privy Council. Instead of a mix of elected members who are registered nurses or midwives and appointed lay members, all its members will be appointed, and the former system of alternate members for the registrant members is discontinued. If the Privy Council, which is the body responsible for appointing the membership of the NMC, directs the Appointments Commission to carry out any of the Privy Council’s appointment functions, it must consult the NMC first. There is a transitional provision which allows the existing elected membership of the NMC to remain in place, without the need for further elections, until either the new constitution Order comes into force or they have served a maximum of four years since they were elected, which will be in 2010. As a result of this transitional provision, the elections in respect of particular national constituencies that would otherwise have been held in 2008 and 2009 have been cancelled (article 3 and paragraphs 1(c) and (d), 10(2), 11 and 12 of Schedule 1).

The constitutional arrangements for the statutory committees of the NMC are revised so that these have to be set out in rules, with less of the detail included in the principal Order itself. The statutory committees are given express powers to regulate their own procedures by standing orders, subject to the requirements of legislation and Council standing orders. The NMC will be responsible for appointing the members of these committees, but is given powers to seek the assistance of other bodies with its appointment functions. The restrictions on the voting and chairing arrangements where the Council or a committee is dealing with only one of the professions regulated under the principal Order have been removed, and there have been some amendments to take account of gender neutral drafting. The NMC is also given revised duties of co-operation with other bodies and individuals (paragraphs 1(a), 5, 6(b) and 10(3) to (8) of Schedule 1).

A new article 6A is inserted into the principal Order, which will enable the NMC to make emergency, temporary annotations to its register in circumstances where a major emergency such as one involving the loss of human life or illness has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur. These annotations will enable fit, proper and suitably experienced registrants to order drugs, medicines and appliances that they would not otherwise be able to order, as the annotations will give them prescribing rights under medicines legislation in relation to most prescription only medicines. The annotations will be at the discretion of the Registrar, but will need to be removed if the Secretary of State advises the Registrar that the circumstances which gave rise to the need for emergency registration no longer exist. There are also some consequential amendments (paragraphs 2, 3 and 6(a) of Schedule 1).

Article 22 of the principal Order is amended so that the inclusion of a person in a barred list kept by the Independent Barring Board, or in the children’s list or the adults’ list by the Scottish Ministers, becomes a reason for finding that a registrant’s fitness to practise is impaired (paragraph 4 of Schedule 1).

Article 48 of the principal Order has been revised to make it clear that the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 applies to statutory instruments under the principal Order (paragraph 7 of Schedule 1).

Article 50 of the principal Order has been revised so that it contains new arrangements for annual reports. There are three documents that the NMC has to produce: an annual report that includes a description of the arrangements that it has in place to ensure that it adheres to good practice in relation to equality and diversity, a statistical report relating to its fitness to practise functions and a strategic plan. The current arrangements for consulting the Privy Council about the exercise of its functions are repealed. As regards annual accounts, there is an updating of the reference to the auditors to take account of changes introduced in the Companies Act 2006 (paragraphs 1(b), 8 and 9 of Schedule 1).

A consequential amendment and some revocations are set out in Schedule 2. The Order also contains powers to make transitional, transitory or saving provisions by order of the Privy Council (articles 4 and 5).

An impact assessment has been prepared in relation to this Order and is available from the Department of Health, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7UE. Copies of the assessment have been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament.