Nursing Code of Practice

The Revised Code

The NMC has now published a revised code for midwives and nurses. The Code: professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses and midwives was sent to all midwives and nurses and it came into effect on 31 March 2015. The RCM has welcomed the revised code, which was informed by extensive consultations with members, encompassing the recommendations of recent reports, such as the Francis review.
The Code sets out a set of key principles that should underlie the practice of all good nurses and midwives, and remind them of their professional responsibilities. According to the Nursing Times, The Code is not just a tool used in ‘fitness-to-practise‘ cases – it should be used to guide daily practice for all nurses and midwives. Along with the other standards, guidance resources and advice available from the NMC, The NMC Code should be used to support professional development.
Louise Silverton, director for midwifery at the RCM said the revisions were valuable. ‘We particularly welcome the code’s updated sections on the professional duty of candour and social media and networking sites. We also welcome the code’s greater emphasis on compassionate care, teamwork and raising concerns about poor care,’
The revised code now has a greater role to play in the processes for revalidation. These processes aims to improve public protection and reinforce good practice. The conduct elements of The Code will also apply to student midwives in training. Finally, the code provides mothers and service-users with a measure of what they can expect in terms of professional care from midwives and nurses and provides a benchmark against which they can provide feedback regarding the care they receive.
The revised NMC code of 2015 was built on the content of the previous version, which was published in 2008.
As new regulations and standards are introduced it can sometimes mean that nurses and midwives find themselves facing complaints and allegations of infringements in areas they may not have been aware of previously.