Copyright independent
The new chief of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Paul Rees, has apologised for the watchdog's past failures, admitting it got things "completely wrong" following a series of revelations by The Independent. Rees conceded the NMC mishandled sexual misconduct cases by not investigating incidents outside of work and acknowledged that killer nurse Lucy Letby should have been suspended much earlier. The NMC also failed to act sooner in the case of psychiatric nurse John Iwuh, who was later jailed for rape, allowing him to work with patients for a year after police began investigating. These admissions follow an independent inquiry, the Rise review, which concluded the NMC endangered public safety and had a "dysfunctional" and "toxic" culture. While Rees states the NMC is undergoing major leadership changes and improving case handling times, he warns that a full turnaround will take years.
