The NMC commissioned Nazir Afzal OBE and Rise Associates to carry out the review after concerns were raised about the organisation’s culture, including racism and fear of speaking up. Over 1,000 current and former NMC colleagues, plus more than 200 panel members who sit on fitness to practise hearings, shared their lived experiences as part of the review. The NMC accepts the report’s recommendations.
The report finds a link between the NMC’s regulatory performance and its culture. In particular, the ongoing challenges with the high fitness to practise caseload have put some of the NMC’s people under immense pressure.
The report finds there are at least two cultures at the NMC – colleagues might pass each other in a corridor with experiences that are worlds apart: one may be on an upward career trajectory, highly motivated and satisfied with their work. The other may be subject to bullying and harassment.
At every level of the organisation, the review found a “dysfunctionality” that was causing emotional distress to staff and was preventing the NMC from working as it should.
One senior leader summarised the NMC’s culture by saying it was a “low trust environment characterised by suspicion, fear, blame, resistance and silos”.
Mr Afzal said: “What we’ve found is that, amongst other things, hundreds of staff were struggling.
“They were angry, they were frustrated, [and] they were exhausted,” he told Nursing Times.
“In conversations, we saw staff break down in tears as they talked about their frustrations of some of the decisions that they’ve taken or had to take.”
The review spoke to multiple Black and minority ethnic workers who had left the NMC because of bullying and discrimination.
Interviews with staff revealed that their experiences “stood in stark contrast” to the regulator’s commitment of treating everyone fairly and acting with kindness.
Some minority ethnic staff said they sat on recruitment panels where colleagues expressed racist views towards candidates.
One colleague is alleged to have said “look at all the rubbish we’ve got today” as they looked through a list of foreign sounding names.
The NMC said it took the findings of the review very seriously and would deliver a culture-change programme rooted in the review’s recommendations.
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