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Nine out of ten NMC registrants revalidate successfully in first 3 months

The NMC said its latest figures show revalidation has been a success and it is not adversely affecting registrant numbers.
Jackie Smith

Nine out of ten of nurses and midwives who were due to renew their NMC registration during the first 3 months of revalidation have done so, new figures reveal

Jackie Smith
NMC chief executive Jackie Smith says new figures show UK nurses are embracing revalidation

Revalidation, introduced in April by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), marked a major shift from the previous post-registration education and practice (Prep) system.

Registrants must complete additional requirements under revalidation, including writing reflective accounts and getting practice-related feedback, to show they are practising safely and effectively.

Concerns were raised prior to its introduction that it could lead to nurses falling off the register.

In line with expectations

But the NMC has said its first quarterly revalidation report shows renewal rates are in line with expectations and there is no evidence of revalidation adversely affecting the register.

Of 38,757 registrants due to revalidate between April and June, 35,143 (90.7%) did so.

The regulator said renewal rates for the same period over the past six years show an average of around 90%.

There were 3,341 registrants whose registration lapsed in the same period. This included 1,422 who ‘actively’ lapsed by informing the NMC of their wish to come off the register and 1,919 who ‘passively’ lapsed by taking no action before their renewal date.

NMC chief executive Jackie Smith said the figures show nurses and midwives across the UK are embracing revalidation.

She added: ‘Feedback so far is overwhelmingly positive.’

There are 273 registrants who submitted revalidation applications but had not had their applications fully processed by the end of their renewal month.

This could be for a number of reasons including that they were having their application verified, they had declared cautions or convictions which need to be checked or they are subject to fitness to practise sanctions.

The percentage of registrants successfully revalidating ranged from 90.8% (3,062 registrants) in Scotland to 91.7% in England (28,186); 92.1% (1,863) in Wales and 92.9% in Northern Ireland (1,435).

Note of caution

Unite professional officer for regulation (health sector) Jane Beach said the results are positive so far but the next quarter’s report will provide a more accurate picture when 51,000 registrants go through the process.

The proportion of registrants successfully revalidating who are based outside the UK did fall against historical trends though.

For registrants whose most recent work address was outside the UK or who gave a home address outside the UK, potentially because they are self-employed or unemployed, the renewal rate was 55% (597).

The NMC said its historical data for these nurses is not recorded in exactly the same way, but that figures for the past 6 years show monthly renewal rates for people living outside the UK ranged from 59% to 74%.

A NMC spokesperson said: ‘As revalidation is a more robust process, we would expect those who are no longer planning on practising in the UK not to renew their registration.

‘While we do not have any specific concerns in this area, we will continue to monitor figures closely.’


Further information

NMC quarterly revalidation report

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