Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on the potential impact of the use of nurse as a title for staff who are not qualified nurses on patient safety.

The Government recognises that the protection in law of certain professional titles is important for public safety. Protecting a title provides assurance to the public that the person using that title is competent and safe to practise. Although ‘registered nurse’ is a protected title, ‘nurse’ is currently not a protected title. The Government is aware of the concerns which this generates.

On the 12 May we announced our intention to amend the criminal offence of ‘misuse of professional titles’ so that the title of ‘nurse’ is protected, as part of the Government’s professional regulation reform programme.

The term ‘nurse’ is used across multiple professions, for example, ‘dental nurse’, ‘veterinary nurse’ and ‘nursery nurse’. It is not our intention to prevent the legitimate use of the title ‘nurse’ within these instances. The legislation will therefore include exemptions to allow other professionals to use the title legitimately, without the risk of prosecution.

The Government will continue to work with key stakeholders, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council, on developing the protection of title offence.