Supporting nursing and midwifery leaders to ensure the best possible care

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has this week launched a new campaign supporting nursing and midwifery leaders, and their teams, to deliver the safe high-quality care in line with the NMC’s standards that people have the right to expect.

Its latest campaign, ‘Good leadership means better care’, shares stories and best practice resources around the importance of good leadership in helping teams to provide the best, safe care for people and communities.

Good leadership protects people’s wellbeing and improves the experiences of people who use health and care services, as well as the wellbeing of professionals. That’s why the campaign focuses on a series of resources that help nurses, midwives and nursing associates in leadership positions to consider how they meet the NMC’s professional standards and practise in line with the Code. This includes:

• supporting teams when they’re working under pressure

• advocating for people using health and care services

• creating inclusive working environments

• speaking up when there’s a concern.

The NMC has also included resources for leaders working with nursing and midwifery students and newly qualified professionals.

Sam Foster, NMC Executive Director of Professional Practice, said: “Compassionate leadership is critical to create practice environments that enable the delivery of safe, high-quality care for people.

“The impact of compassionate nursing and midwifery leadership ensures that leaders acting as behavioural role models create psychological safety, a learning culture and the ability for individuals to raise concerns ensuring that person-centred care is always the priority.

“Through a series of engaging resources and case studies, we aim to positively influence the role of nursing and midwifery leaders as they support their teams to practise in line with our Code and professional standards. Achieving this will be for the benefit of everyone’s health and wellbeing.”