Paul Rees has been substantively appointed as chief executive and registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), it has been announced today.
Mr Rees has been carrying out the role on an interim basis since 20 January 2025 and was recruited permanently following an open external recruitment process.
“I am committed to seeing through the process of building a better NMC”
Paul Rees
Mr Rees was previously chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association. Before that, he led the Royal College of Psychiatrists and was an executive director of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
In 2022, he was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire medal for services to mental health and to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
Since taking the helm at the NMC, Mr Rees has pledged to turn the organisation’s toxic culture around, after a damning independent review uncovered racism, bullying and toxicity at every level of the regulator.
A culture transformation plan was published eight weeks into his tenure, which promised to bring about “root and branch” change at the organisation.
Other efforts to reform the NMC include setting ambitious targets to eliminate bias from its regulatory processes, taking steps to reduce its ethnicity pay gap and signing the Unison anti-racism charter.
Mr Rees’s permanent appointment comes with a new executive team, after Nursing Times revealed there had been a swathe of resignations across the organisation over the last year.
In the last few months, the NMC has appointed a new executive director of people and culture, Ravi Chand; executive director of communications and engagement, Julia Corkey; and executive director of strategy and insight, Emma Westcott.
However, the regulator remains under close scrutiny.
A recent report by the Professional Standards Authority found the NMC had failed to meet seven of its 18 regulatory standards, warning there were “serious issues” in the performance of the regulator.
The NMC also came under fire today for re-commissioning two critical investigations into its handling of whistleblowing disclosures and fitness to practise cases.
Mr Rees said he was “incredibly proud to be asked to continue leading the NMC’s transformation”.
He added: “I am committed to seeing through the process of building a better NMC, driven by a stronger, more connected culture.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the NMC’s people, partners, professionals and the public to deliver on this promise.”
Ron Barclay-Smith, chair of the NMC’s governing council, said: “Since joining the NMC, Paul has accelerated the organisation’s journey to becoming a fit-for-the-future regulator.
“He has wasted no time in getting transformation started, and he was the outstanding candidate to lead the organisation forward.
“I am confident that under Paul’s ongoing leadership, the NMC will continue to become a better, more inclusive place to work, with a clear focus on our core regulatory functions.
“In turn, this will put the organisation in a better place to deliver on its purpose of public protection,” he said.
More on the NMC’s reshuffle
