PROFESSIONAL HEALTH CARE BODIES

Here it is a brief summary of some of the Professional Health Care Organizations in UK/Northern Ireland and their basic role.

NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL (NMC)

They are the nursing and midwifery regulator for England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Islands.

As regulator for the largest group of healthcare professionals at work in these islands – there are some 670,000 registered nurses and midwives – their responsibilities and activities are considerable. 

-They exist to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the public.

-They set standards of education, training, conduct and performance so that nurses and midwives can deliver high quality healthcare consistently throughout their careers.

-They ensure that nurses and midwives keep their skills and knowledge up to date and uphold the professional standards.

-They have clear and transparent processes to investigate nurses and midwives who fall short of the standards.

Their mission

Their primary purpose is to protect patients and the public in the UK through effective and proportionate regulation of nurses and midwives. They set and promote standards of education and practice, maintain a register of those who meet these standards and take action when a nurse or midwife’s fitness to practise is called into question. By doing this well they promote public confidence in nurses and midwives, and regulation.

More information: http://www.nmc-uk.org/

REGULATION AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY (RQIA)

RQIA is the independent body responsible for monitoring and inspecting the availability and quality of health and social care services in Northern Ireland, and encouraging improvements in the quality of those services.

RQIA's main functions are:

1. to inspect the quality of services provided by Health and Social Care Services (HSC) bodies in Northern Ireland through reviews of clinical and social care governance arrangements within these bodies;
2. to regulate (register and inspect) a wide range of services delivered by HSC bodies and by the independent sector. The regulation of services is based on new minimum care standards to ensure that service users know what quality of services they can expect to receive, and service providers have a benchmark against which to measure their quality; and
3. with the transfer of duties of the Mental Health Commission to RQIA under the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (NI) 2009, they undertake a range of responsibilities for people with a mental illness and those with a learning disability. These include: preventing ill treatment; remedying any deficiency in care or treatment; terminating improper detention in a hospital or guardianship; and preventing or redressing loss or damage to a patient's property.

More information: www.rqia.org.uk/‎

ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING (RCN)

The RCN represents nurses and nursing, promotes excellence in practice and shapes health policies.

To deliver their mission they aim to:

-Represent the interests of nurses and nursing and be their voice locally, nationally and internationally.

-Influence and lobby governments and others to develop and implement policy that improves the quality of patient care, and builds on the importance of nurses, health care assistants and nursing students to health outcomes.

-Support and protect the value of nurses and nursing staff in all their diversity, their terms and conditions of employment in all employment sectors and the interests of nurses professionally.

-Develop and educate nurses professionally and academically, building their resource of professional expertise and leadership the science and art of nursing and its professional practice.

-Build a sustainable, member led, organisation with the capacity to deliver their mission effectively, efficiently and in accordance with their values the systems, attitudes and resources to offer the best possible support and development to their staff.

More information: https://www.rcn.org.uk

THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF NURSING PRACTICE

The eight Principles describe what the public can expect from nursing practice in any setting. They have been produced jointly between nurses and patient groups.

1. Nurses and nursing staff treat everyone in their care with dignity and humanity - they understand their individual needs, show compassion and sensitivity, and provide care in a way that respects all people equally.
2. Nurses and nursing staff take responsability for the care they provide and answer for their own judgements and actions - they carry out these actions in a way that is agreed with their patients, and the families and carers of their patients, and in a way that meets the requirements of their professional bodies and the law.
3. Nurses and nursing staff manage risk , are vigilant about risk, and help to keep everyone safe in the places they receive health care.
4. Nurses and nursing staff provide and promote care that puts people at the centre, involves patients, service users, their families and their carers in decisions and helps them make informed choices about their treatment and care.
5. Nurses and nursing staff are at the heart of the communication process: they assess, record and report on treatment and care, handle information sensitively and confidentially, deal with complaints effectively, and are conscientious in reporting the things they are concerned about.
6. Nurses and Nursing staff have up-to-date knowledge and skills, and use these with intelligence, insight and understanding in line with the needs of each individual in their care.
7. Nurses and nursing staff work closely with their own team and with other professionals, making sure patients´ care and treatment is co-ordinated, is of a high standard and has the best possible outcome.
8. Nurses and nursing staff lead by example, develop themselves and other staff, and influence the way care is given in a manner thet is open and responds to individual needs. 

Source: Royal College of Nursing,

http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/practice/principles