An external review into the way the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) handled stripping a UK midwifery course of its accreditation has been completed.
This review, a summary of which has been published in NMC Council papers, found failings on the part of both the university and the regulator – recommending more transparency and better communication should a similar situation arise in the future.
“They are in a very, very different and positive place”
Paula Holt
In 2023, the NMC withdrew its regulatory approval of Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU)’s midwifery degree course – the first time it had ever made such a move – due to concerns about the safety and quality of the programme.
The decision meant students had to be relocated to another university in order to complete their course and become registered midwives.
At the time of writing, CCCU’s midwifery course remains unaccredited by the NMC.
At today’s meeting of the NMC Council, members discussed the findings of an external review into the withdrawal of the course’s accreditation, following an internal one that concluded last year.
Professor Paula Holt, senior nursing adviser at the NMC, presented a summary of the external report to the council meeting.
The report acknowledged the “distress” caused to students and the need for “better support and effective communication” from both CCCU and the NMC, noting how the impact could have been mitigated.
The summary also noted the need for the NMC’s quality assurance and monitoring processes to become more “proportionate, proactive and upstream”.
Professor Holt explained that this meant taking a more preventative approach with universities, rather than waiting for crisis point to be reached.
The external report also criticised the NMC for not being transparent in its decision making regarding CCCU.
A series of recommendations were made in the report, with the NMC noting that “many” were already underway or completed.
Professor Holt said there had been a “seismic shift” in the way education quality assurance at the regulator was handled.
She also claimed that CCCU had made significant improvements and was in a “very different and positive place” compared to 2023.
She told the council meeting that the relationship between education providers and the NMC was now one of pragmatism, and that it was now seen as having a “non-adversarial approach” to regulation.
“What that led to is… many people who work with us being much more proactive in asking for advice,” she said.
“We have worked closely, authentically and honestly with the NMC”
Jane Perry
Professor Holt added: “We’ve worked very closely with [CCCU]… to make sure that they have, in their words, ‘risen from the ashes’, and they are in a very, very different and positive place.”
She said a “difficult period” led to “a lot of lessons learned”, which had benefited both the university and the NMC.
In a statement for Nursing Times, Professor Jane Perry, CCCU interim pro-vice chancellor and dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Social Care, similarly said there had been “many lessons learned” following the loss of midwifery at the university.
“We have worked closely, authentically and honestly with the NMC,” Professor Perry added.
“I am delighted to say that through this collaboration, which included [NHS England] and [integrated care board] colleagues, chief nurses, directors of midwifery, multiple practice partners, students and experts by experience across the Kent and Medway footprint, we have come together with a renewed approach.”
Meanwhile, at the council meeting, the NMC also discussed its annual education quality assurance report for 2023-24, which detailed the work the regulator was doing to review areas of concern such as the use of simulated and reflective practice time instead of placements.
These issues have, in recent years, reared their head at several universities in the UK, including CCCU in its pre-registration nursing courses and the University of Brighton.
The report included a list of more than 20 universities where “critical concerns” had been identified.
