United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting

Did You Know?

• On 13 March 1989 a school nurse failed in a High Court attempt to stop nurses having to pay the annual fee to register with the UKCC.
• In 1990, the UKCC introduced Project 2000, a higher education scheme for nursing qualifications.
• Mary Cronk was part of UKCC's England Board.

Creation and responsibilities

The UKCC was set up on 1 July 1983 following the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979. It replaced the General Nursing Council for England and Wales (established by the Nurses Registration Act 1919), the Central Midwives Board in London, and seven other bodies. Many of the changes were prompted by the Briggs Report (1972), which suggested a single statutory body, the Central Nursing and Midwifery Council, should oversee professional standards, education and discipline instead of the three existing organisations.

The structural changes recommended by the report were not accepted until 1974 and were not implemented until the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (Electoral Scheme) Order of 1982, with the UKCC finally created in 1983. The UKCC was expected to maintain a register of UK nurses, midwives and health visitors, provide guidance to registrants, and handle professional misconduct complaints. At the same time, National Boards were created for each UK country to monitor the quality of nursing and midwifery education courses and maintain training records of students.

The UKCC's responsibilities included establishing and improving standards of training and professional conduct, determining rules for registration and maintaining a single professional register, providing guidance through a code of conduct, protecting the public through its professional conduct and health committees, arranging courses and examinations for qualification and further training, and investigating alleged misconduct cases.

Establishment of the Nursing and Midwifery Council

This structure survived with minor modifications until April 2002, when the UKCC ceased to exist and its functions were taken over by the new Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), legislated through the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001. The English National Board was abolished and its quality assurance function was taken on by the NMC; the other National Boards were also abolished, with new bodies created in each country to take over their functions. The UKCC became the NMC on 1 April 2002.