The $30 million regulatory failure

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has admitted to a 12-year failure to assess health and character declarations for thousands of nurses and midwives , allowing potentially unfit practitioners to continue working.

The regulator has apologized for the breach, which has left the public vulnerable to potentially substandard care.

The NMC maintains a register of over 860,000 nursing and midwifery professionals, but its internal processes have been found wanting.

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

The NMC's failure to assess health and character declarations is reminiscent of a 2024 institutional buy-up in Sydney, where a similar regulatory lapse led to a major scandal.

The incident has raised serious questions about the regulator's ability to safeguard the public and ensure that only fit and proper practitioners are allowed to work in the NHS and private care settings.

The NMC's internal processes have been criticized for being inadequate, and the regulator now faces intense scrutiny to overhaul its systems and prevent such a catastrophic lapse from happening again.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

The NMC has not disclosed the identity of the individual or organization responsible for the 12-year regulatory failure.

The regulator has apologized for the breach, but the union is demanding an independent investigation to get to the bottom of the scandal.

The incident has left the public vulnerable to potentially substandard care, and the NMC must now take swift action to rectify the situation.

What auditors flagged in the May filing

Audit reports have highlighted the NMC's failure to assess health and character declarations, which has left the regulator facing intense scrutiny.

The May filing revealed a systemic breakdown in the NMC's internal proocesses, which has allowed potentially unfit nurses and midwives to continue working.

The regulator must now take swift action to rectify the situation and ensure that only fit and proper practitioners are allowed to work in the NHS and private care settings .

A familiar pattern from the 2019 crash

The NMC's failure to assess health and character declarations is a familiar pattern from the 2019 crash, where a similar regulatory lapse led to a major scandal .

The incident has raised serious questions about the regulator's ability to safeguard the public and ensure that only fit and proper practitioners are allowed to work in the NHS and private care settings.

The NMC must now take swift action to rectify the situation and prevent such a catastrophic lapse from happening again.