New push for legal protection of ‘nurse’ in job titles

Bill would make it illegal for anyone to call themselves a nurse unless registered, after Nursing Standard investigation found 93% of NHS trusts have non-registered staff with ‘nurse’ job titles

The ‘nurse’ job title could finally see protection under the law, after a Labour MP took up the fight to make it an offence for someone to call themselves a nurse unless registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

MP for Brent East Dawn Butler will make the case for new legislation in a speech to the House of Commons next Tuesday, 11 February, under the ten-minute rule.

Call to extend the protection offered for ‘registered nurse’ title

Although the term ‘registered nurse’ is protected in the UK under the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1997, there has been a long-running #ProtectNurse campaign led by London South Bank University professor of healthcare and workforce modelling Alison Leary for the protection to extend to the term ‘nurse’.

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Existing and protected titles such as ‘veterinary nurse’ and ‘dental nurse’ would not be affected under the proposed bill.

Ms Butler said: ‘The public should be able to trust that when someone calls themselves a nurse they have the right professional qualifications, training and accountability.

‘Right now anyone can use the title – even those who have been struck off the NMC register for serious misconduct. This is unacceptable and risks patient safety.

MP says bill will protect patients and ensure clarity in healthcare settings

She added: ‘My bill will ensure that only those who are registered with the NMC can call themselves a nurse. It’s a simple and common-sense step to protect patients, strengthen the profession and ensure clarity in healthcare settings.’

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Professor Leary and colleague Paul Trevatt from the #ProtectNurse campaign said their 2017 research revealed nursing job titles such as advanced nurse practitioner and district nurse were being used by those with no nursing qualifications.

They said they had been approached by patients and families who felt they had been misled, ‘sometimes with catastrophic consequences’.

RCNi investigation shows many NHS employers may still be using misleading job titles

Responding to the bill, RCN general Secretary Nicola Ranger, said: 'The changes in this bill will provide better legal protections for nursing. This includes preventing those who have lost the right to be called nurses from legally continuing to do so.

'We will continue to urge government and parties across the political spectrum to get behind this campaign, ensuring our highly-skilled profession gets the respect it deserves.'

An RCNi investigation in summer 2024 discovered that many NHS employers may still be using misleading job titles for unregistered nursing staff, which nursing experts warn could pose a risk to patient safety. It found that 93% employed unregistered support staff in jobs with titles containing the word ‘nurse’ – accounting for more than 8,000 roles.

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RCN deputy chief nurse Lynn Woolsey said at the time that the examples raised deep concerns about the ease with which the title of nurse can be used inappropriately.

Protecting the title by law was a key point on the RCN’s government policy wish-list published ahead of last year’s general election. In 2022, RCN congress passed a resolution in favour of protecting the title.

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