What we do

The Nursing and Midwifery Council regulates nurses and midwives in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Islands

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What does regulation mean?

The Nursing and Midwifery Council is a regulatory body.

This means that we set standards for nurses and midwives to meet in their working lives. Nurses and midwives have a code of conduct that they must stick to, that states how they must work and behave.

Standards for education and conduct

We set standards for education, to make sure nurses and midwives have the right skills and qualities when they start work. We also set standards for education throughout nurses' and midwives' careers, after they initially qualify. Nurses and midwives must continually train and take part in learning activities to show that their skills and knowledge are up to date. 

Keeping a register

We keep a register of all nurses and midwives in the UK. It is illegal to work as a nurse or midwife without being on the NMC register. In order to be on the register, nurses and midwives must pay a yearly fee and prove that they fulfil our requirements for keeping their skills and knowledge up to date.

Midwifery supervision

We make arrangements for midwives to be supervised during their education and careers. Midwives must prove that their work is supervised in order to be on the register.

Dealing with concerns and allegations

If an allegation is made about a nurse or midwife that they do not meet the standards for skills, education and behaviour that we set, or that there is a problem with their work, we will investigate and, if necessary, act by removing them from the register permanently, or for a set period of time.

All of our documents and publications are available to the public. If there is any aspect of our work that you would like more information on, and cannot find on our website, please contact us.

Created date :
14/01/2010
Modified date :
14/01/2010