The Charity Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case after receiving information detailing ‘a number of serious concerns’ relating to the governance of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
The commission, which regulates the NMC in parallel with the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, said the case had been opened to ‘further assess this information and to determine our next steps alongside other bodies’.
It added: ‘In line with our guidance, the charity has submitted a serious incident report to us on this matter.’
The opening of the regulatory compliance case follows a report in The Independent online newspaper claiming that nurses and midwives accused of serious sexual, physical and racial abuse had been allowed to keep working on wards because whistleblowers were ‘being ignored’ by the NMC.
The report also claimed that ‘deep-seated toxic conduct’ within the NMC was leading to skewed and failed investigations.
The NMC responded to the report by reaffirming a commitment to developing a ‘safe and inclusive working environment’, and promised an ‘open and transparent’ response to the concerns.
The NMC has been approached by Nursing in Practice for comment in light of the Charity Commission’s probe.
