Nurses and midwives law set to mirror UK's

NEW legislation to improve standards of nursing and midwifery care could be introduced this year. Health and Social Services is currently consulting professionals about the need for better-defined regulations for nurses, midwives and health visitors.

It has been suggested that the new laws be based on UK legislation and the standards set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

'The NMC has specific rules and standards, which regulate the behaviour and other statutory requirements of the profession,' said a department spokesman.

'Instead of reinventing these standards in a Guernsey version, it is proposed to adopt them in new legislation.'

Local healthcare staff are currently governed by The Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Ordinance, 1987, which is outdated and which does not reflect UK registration and authorisation arrangements.

'Most of the staff recruited to the Health and Social Services Department come from and go back to the UK. By using the same legislation as the UK, the staff will be familiar with the standards expected of them.'

New legislation would be based on the UK Government's Nursing and Midwifery Order, 2001, which established the NMC to set standards of care to protect the public.

The council places a strong emphasis on professional conduct, performance and ethics, as well as high standards of education. It also deals with cases of malpractice, as was the case recently when it investigated claims against local midwife Lynda Cantillon.

* A midwife from York who used to work at the PEH is due to appear before the Nursing and Midwifery Council next week charged with falsifying her CV and making an inappropriate internet entry. Muriel Bickerdike, 47, was employed as an F-grade midwife at the hospital when the alleged events occurred between 2002 and 2004.