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Commission monitors "serious weaknesses" in governance at healthcare charity

Governance | Gareth Jones | 5 Aug 2008

The Charity Commission is monitoring the performance of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), though it has stopped short of opening a formal investigation into the troubled organisation.

The healthcare regulator, which became a charity in 2002, was criticised in a performance review by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) in June, a report which the Charity Commission says raised “significant and serious issues” about its governance and strategic leadership.

“Following publication of the CHRE report we have met with representatives of the trustees on two occasions and have arranged to meet with the full NMC Council in early September,” a Commission spokeswoman added.

“We have asked the Council for full details of their proposed action in response to the report, and have been provided with a copy of the action plan which was agreed by their Council at their meeting on 16 July.

“We continue to monitor the situation very closely to ensure the NMC is able to move forward in a constructive way to fulfil its duties to the public.”

CEO and president to stand down

The CHRE report identified “serious weaknesses” in the NMC’s governance and culture, the conduct of its Council, its ability to protect the interests of the public through the operation of fitness-to-practise processes and its ability to retain the confidence of key stakeholders.

Though the CHRE report refrained from criticising individuals, NMC chief executive Sarah Thewlis and president Nancy Kirkland have both signalled their intention to stand down, having been urged to do so in writing by health minister Ben Bradshaw.

Elections for a new president are currently ongoing, while a new chair is also being recruited to head up a revised governance structure from January 2009.

‘Ingrained culture of bullying and racism’

Concerns were first raised in March, when an adjournment debate was called in the House of Commons by Labour MP Jim Devine to discuss allegations of mismanagement and an “ingrained culture of bullying and racism” within the NMC.

He highlighted the comments of a former NMC member, quoting the member as saying: “The NMC is a fundamentally dysfunctional organisation where the priority is on maintaining the status quo at the expense of proper transparency and integrity, where funds are being misspent and where trustees are being systematically prevented from doing what they are supposed to do.”

Bradshaw responded by promising to write to the CHRE and the Charity Commission asking them to look into the allegations.

Devine raised the issue again in July, highlighting the situation of former NMC vice president Moi Ali, who has initiated tribunal proceedings on the grounds of racism.

Ali alleges she was excluded and bullied, after writing a whistleblowing letter to then-health minister Lord Hunt outlining her unease about the running of the NMC, only for the Department of Health to inform the NMC management of her concerns.

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