Nurses across the UK have until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, to respond to the government’s call for evidence on legally protecting the job title “nurse.”
Health minister Alison McGovern urged the profession to use the “crucial opportunity” to shape what she called a clear, workable approach that puts patients first. The consultation has run for 10 weeks and feeds a pledged law to crack down on people wrongly using the title.
The stakes are real: currently anyone can call themselves a “nurse” — only “registered nurse” is a protected title — meaning even struck-off registrants can keep using it. Evidence is being sought from nurses, patients, employers and the public.
Nursing leaders say legal protection of the title is a basic patient-safety measure whose time has come.
