Nurses who admit mistakes to be given more lenient sanctions

Nurse and midwives who admit to mistakes they have made during practice will be given less severe sanctions when their case is reviewed by the NMC.

The initiative, proposed by health secretary Jeremy Hunt, is designed to improve health and safety levels within the NHS by encouraging honesty and transparency within the healthcare industry.

Mr Hunt said that under NMC guidance, when NHS nurses admit mistakes “a professional tribunal will give them credit for that, just as failing to do so is likely to incur a serious sanction.

“Nurses and other health professionals need to know that they will get credit for being open and honest and the government is committed to legal reform that would allow professional regulators more flexibility to resolve cases without stressful tribunals.”

The initiative, which was highlighted in one of Mr Hunt’s recent speeches, piggy backs the NMC’s ‘duty of candour’ guidance introduced last year to encourage healthcare professionals to speak up, admit mistakes and take responsible action if things go wrong.

Kare Plus fully supports the health secretary’s plans. It will allow nurses to manage themselves more responsibly and admit mistakes without fear of automatic penalties for honest human error that, from time to time, does occur.

What are your thoughts on the idea? Will you be supporting the health secretary and hoping the plans materialise? Let us know in our comments below or on our Facebook page.