The Queen’s Nursing Institute is one of eight organisations that have written to the Nursing and Midwifery Council to ask for an urgent rethink of the Review of post-registration standards.
The letter1 calls into question whether the NMC has acted on the report by consultants Pye Tait, dated November 2020.2 The Pye Tait report is a thorough analysis of the themes raised during 2020 at stakeholder engagement meetings.2 However, the letter asks whether the Pye Tait findings – and therefore stakeholders’ views – have been taken into account in the NMC’s Review.
The letter expresses concern that the pre-consultation engagement process has not identified any bespoke standards of proficiency to underpin the distinct differences in the knowledge and skills within each Specialist Practitioner Qualification. The NMC states that it intends to focus on common standards for all community specialisms, ‘with bespoke elements where needed.’
However, detailed analysis of the Pye Tait report,2 which is informed by the views of all stakeholders who participated in the engagement phase, shows that it contains reference to 27 bespoke standards. Mapped to the four countries of the UK, these would form the basis for bespoke standards of proficiency for each of the five Specialist Practitioner Qualifications.
The eight signatories to the letter represent the Association of Academic General Practice Nurse Educators,
The Association of District Nurse and Community Nurse Educators, The Community Nurse Executive Network, The District Nurse Apprenticeship Standard Trailblazer Group, The National District Nurse Network, The Queen’s Nursing Institute, the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland, and the Royal College of Nursing.
The letter also asked for a postponement of the NMC’s full public consultation, given the immense pressures being faced by nursing staff in the community due to the impact of the pandemic.
1. QNI letter to NMC. https://www.qni.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Letter-to-NMC-re-bespoke-standards-120321-signed-Final.pdf
2. Pye Tait report.
