Were you lucky enough to attend a Christmas Party last year - are you holding one this year?

The NMC hold xmas celebrations every year like many big companies and so they should - it is an important time to debrief, unwind, team build and generally let your hair down. 

However one of our supporters recently found out by undertaking a FOI ( freedom of information request ) that the NMC has spent over £6,000 each year for the last 3 years on "Christmas celebrations"

All paid for from registrant's subscription fees

Registrants who probably couldn't celebrate Christmas this year and if they did most likely paid for their night themselves.

Whilst we don't begrudge the NMC staff having a party like everyone else - perhaps more care needs to be taken on spending registrant's money.

Jackie Smith, former CEO of the NMC, received a pay rise of £20,000 in 2017. Her basic salary rose from £173,800 in 2015-16 to £192,850 in 2016-17

Her overall remuneration package for 2016-17 was £256,027, compared with £220,284 in 2015-16.

The difference of £35,743 is the equivalent to the annual salary of a nurse at the top of Band 6, or a mid-ranking Band 7 nurse in England. ( Keogh, K Nursing Standard, July 2017). The article went on to say that in addition to her £192,850 basic salary, Ms Smith’s total remuneration for 2016-17 included:

*£11,921 performance bonus. This was for 2015-16 but was paid in 2016-17. The bonus scheme has been suspended for 2016-17 for 12 months, the report said.
*£10,392 reimbursement for 17 days annual leave not taken in 2015-16 due to the ‘volume of high priority business demanded of the chief executive’.
*£40,864 increase in value of pension benefits.

A 2015 inquiry found a "lethal mix" of failures at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust led to the unnecessary deaths of 11 babies and one mother between 2004 and 2013.

James Titcombe, whose son Joshua died after midwives missed chances to spot and treat a serious infection which led to his death nine days after he was born at Furness General Hospital in Cumbria, has been heavily critical of the regulator.

He wrote on Twitter that it was "disgraceful that the resignation isn't with immediate effect".

Adding: "Jackie has overseen a dire culture at the NMC that has caused considerable distress."

Let's hope the new CEO Andrea Sutcliffe brings a change in culture and debates the moralities around this issue...