Open call for evidence: Using the professional title ‘nurse’ (closes 11:59pm on 8 October 2026)

Summary

The Department of Health and Social Care is seeking evidence that contributes towards an understanding of:

• the professions and roles that should continue to be able to use the title ‘nurse’ without risk of prosecution
• other professional titles that should be protected under the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) legislative framework

Given the territorial extent of NMC’s regulatory framework, and the fact that professions using the title ‘nurse’ may exist across different parts of the UK, they are seeking views from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as part of the call for evidence.

They welcome views from:

• the public
• regulators, including NMC
• the Royal College of Nursing
• trade unions
• employers
• the higher education sector
• charities
• other sectors where nurse is used as part of a professional title
• other professional representatives
• the social care sector