The excessive length it takes the NMC to investigate has appeared in the nursing press since as early as 2014 - it is a repeated theme that occasionally has the spotlight thrown onto it but still is not resolved.

The latest hope is that the legislative review for regulation will assist the NMC to have better powers to resolve cases earlier but this brings it's owns questions. It also asks is the fundamental reason why the process takes so long due to some other reason - could it be that our regulator who we are held to account with, often on the basis of very little evidence actually themselves is never held to account in the same way and so will continue to repeat the same behaviour year on year.

A recent FOI showed that nearly 600 cases have been put to the high court to apply for extensions for interim orders because process has not completed in the 18month time limit. These are rarely challenged by the registrant in question and continue to add to the problem rather than solve it.  The latest blog looks at this issue