TRUST BOARD MEETING

OPEN SESSION

TUESDAY 7 JULY 2015

NURSING AND MIDWIFERY REVALIDATION

  1. Summary

The purpose of this report is to assure the Board that appropriate arrangements are in place toenable registered nurses and midwives to meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) revalidation expectations. This report provides a brief overview of therevalidation requirements,details of the numbers of staff who are required to revalidate with in the year from April 2016 with the NMC, the processes that are in place and the on-going action plan to assure readiness forrevalidation commencing April 2016.

  1. Overview of Revaluation Expectations

A registered nurse or midwife will be required to declare from April 2016 onwards, as part of atriennial process, that they have:

Practised for 450 hours during the last three years (as an example 450 hours equates to 12weeks work at 37.5hrs per week in three years).

Followed requirements on continuing professional development undertaking a minimum of40 hours over three years related to the role they are in, 20 hours should be participatorylearning (learning with others).

Obtained confirmation from a third party about the reliability of their declaration and meetthe expectations set out in the NMC Code.

Demonstrated that they are using practice related feedback to reflect on their practice.

A portfolio of evidence maintained electronically to assure their declaration.

Please refer to Appendix 1 for further information.

  1. Nursing and Midwifery Staff Impacted by Revalidation Requirements

A Revalidation Working Group has been set up to implement this in the Trust with a range of nursing and HR input. The Revalidation Working Group (RWG) can confirm that it is meeting regularly and that it has completed and holds a working action plan which has identified nursing andmidwifery staff required to revalidate in the first phase from April 2016.

At the time of submitting this report the Trust has 527 (head count) Registered Nurses and Midwives who are required to make annual submissions of practice to the NMC and then revalidatetriennially in order to remain on the NMC Register (see Table 2a).

122 (23%) Registered Nurses and Midwives have been highlighted by the NMC and identified on ESR as being required to revalidate in the first year from April 2016 (seeTable 2b). These numbers will vary according to leavers, vacancy and starters especially during winter if extra capacity is use. Revalidation will commence in April 2016 and this has been broken down into three phases for the Trust (see Table 1).

Table 1

Phase / Months 2016 / Number of registered nurses and midwives due to validate
1 / April – June / 29 (Pilot Group) / 5.5%
2 / July – Sept / 64 / 12%
3 / Oct – Dec / 29 / 5.5%
527 HC / Total / 122 / (23%)

29 Registered Nurses and Midwives have been identified for the pilot group as they will need to revalidate between April and June 2016 as outlined in Tables 1 and 2b. All will receive written information, their managers notified, and will be invited to preparation sessions run by the revalidation group. The RWG will then assess delivery and amend process as required.

The Trust will have a substantial peak of staff who will need to revalidate in September2016 and thereafter,due to the one annual University out turn for student qualification. The Trust pilotgroup will enable requisite processes to be tested along with learning from national pilot sites that can allow for a more streamlined approach to manage the September peak. Data from pilot sites is currently not available for evaluation.

Table 2a

Table 2b

  1. Processes in Place to Assure Readiness

TheRWG has been convened with clear terms of referenceand action plans reporting into the TrustsNursing and Midwifery Committee.

Examples of work in progress from the group todate include:

Modification of and additions to the appraisal documentation to enable the confirmationprocess required by the NMC (confirmation from a third party, who is on the same partof the NMC register and conversant with the registrant’s practice, to provide extraassurance to the NMC that the registrant has met revalidation requirements).

Communication Strategy and implementation with revalidation launch and dissemination out to Clinical Teamsvia face to face presentations, posters (see Appendix 1)etc. The dates for this are currently being worked on.

Working on our new Intranet build and launched date where staff can access current guidance and access to resources for their professionalportfolios.

Additions made to Professional Registration of Staff Policy to includerevalidation (awaiting committee approval).

Action plan submitted to the Trust Development Authorityand accepted.

Employees can check their own registration status on ESR and validation dates are fed intoESR from theNMC Interface.Table 2b is based on this data.

The Trust currently advise managers monthly of pending registrations.

All staff can access the NMC web site which gives them access to when validation procedures will apply to them. This is also available on ESR as stated above.

  1. Ongoing Action Plan of Revalidation Working Group

Appendix 2 outlines the work plan for the RWP demonstrating actions planned. Thisis a fluid process as the NMC final guidance is still awaited with national pilotsites due to report at the end of June 2015. The group meets monthly to ensure responsiveness. The key actions to be implemented are:

Create a clear process for revalidation for Weston Area Health NHS Trust.

For all Registered Nurses and Midwives to have a clear understanding of their responsibility in the revalidation process.

Align revalidation with appraisals and create requite HR process.

Change in practice and culture →Be Positive and Be Prepared.

Assurance that revalidation is in the contract with external bank and agency providers.

Assurance that Bank Nurses will have access to revalidation support and their revalidation will be monitored.

  1. Conclusion

There is a process in place to implement arrangements to enable RegisteredNurses and Midwives to complete the revalidation process. The arrangements implemented to-date and planned are designed to enable NMC registrantsto provide evidence to their relevant professional body, demonstrating that they continue tomeet the professional standards which are a condition of their ability to practice adhering to ongoing NMC expectations.

  1. Recommendation

Members of the Trust Board are asked to note the contents of this report and are requested to accept future reports by exception.

Julia Stroud

Associate Director of Nursing and Chair of the Revalidation Working Group

19 June 2015

Appendix 1

Trust Poster (Draft) with NMC Guidance on Validation Requirements

Weston Area Health Trust Nurses and Midwives Preparing for Validation
What is Revalidation - The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have created a three year revalidation process for all nurses to undertake in order to maintain their registration and practicing privileges.
Agree to uphold the NMC standards / /
Obtain feedback on your practice /
Obtain conformation from a third party that you are fit to practice (FTP) /
Regularly check the code for updates and keep up to date /
Regularly demonstrate that you are fit to practice /
Complete a 460 practice hours over the three year validation period /
Make sure you have indemnity insurance /
Complete 40 hours of Continual Professional Development (CPD) 20 hours will be participatory learning /
Be Positive and be Prepared

17 October 2018

K:\Board Papers\Board Papers 2015\7 July 2015\Open\Agenda Item 1011 15 Nursing and Midwifery Revalidation.docx

1

Appendix 2

Work Programme

Action / Nine Month Work Programme
1.Create a clear process for revalidation within Weston Area Health Trust / July / Aug / Sep / Oct / Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb / Mar
Determine what W.A.H.T requires to ensure fitness for practice
Embed the new NMC code of conduct into the process
Utilise NMC guidance on revalidation to inform the process
Undertake a literature search and create alerts to evidence process
Determine how nurses and midwives know when their 3 yearly revalidation date occurs and how this is record is held
Write a W.A.H.T policy to cover expectations and process for revalidation
Identify examples of CPD
Develop a process of self assessment
2.For all registered nurses and midwives to have a clear understanding of their responsibility in the revalidation process / July / Aug / Sep / Oct / Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb / Mar
Create a clear and simple flow chart to outline the process. This is to be found on the new site intranet.
Develop guidelines for nurses, midwives and managers
Develop and implement a communication strategy to involve road shows
Identify the role of confirmer and key responsibilities
Develop and implement a teaching programme using a drop in question and answer approach
Introduce a session on revalidation on Green day for all registers nurses and midwives
Identify examples of CPD
Develop a process of self assessment
3.Align revalidation with appraisal and create requisite HR process / July / Aug / Sep / Oct / Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb / Mar
Work with the Education Council on determining how revalidation can align with appraisals
Develop process within the appraisal system for yearly check of CPD and practice hours
Work with HR and Education Council to develop appeal process if not considered fit for revalidation
HR to design alerts for revalidation
4.Change in practice / July / Aug / Sep / Oct / Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb / Mar
Identify nurses / midwives who need to revalidate April – June 2015
Define how staff on LTS and ML will achieve validation against practice hours
Indentify a process for assessing how many nurses per month will need validation past first tranche
Review Pilot and seek leaning and ideas
Roll out trust wide using display posters and banners
5.Assurance that revalidation is in the contract with external bank and agency providers / July / Aug / Sep / Oct / Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb / Mar
Bank Lead to get in contact with other organisations (BNSSG) to see how they are achieving this and this is to be added to the quality assurance for all external contacts.
6.Assurance that bank nurses will have access to revalidation support and their revalidation will be monitored / July / Aug / Sep / Oct / Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb / Mar
All action points above to include RN and RM who have substantive contracts on bank. Bank Office to be a member of the Validation Group.

17 October 2018

K:\Board Papers\Board Papers 2015\7 July 2015\Open\Agenda Item 1011 15 Nursing and Midwifery Revalidation.docx

1