New chief of scandal-hit nursing regulator finally admits: We got it wrong on Lucy Letby
New nursing watchdog chief apologises for failures
- The new chief of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Paul Rees, has apologised for the watchdog's past failures, admitting it got things "completely wrong" following a series of revelations by The Independent.
- Rees conceded the NMC mishandled sexual misconduct cases by not investigating incidents outside of work and acknowledged that killer nurse Lucy Letby should have been suspended much earlier.
- The NMC also failed to act sooner in the case of psychiatric nurse John Iwuh, who was later jailed for rape, allowing him to work with patients for a year after police began investigating.
- These admissions follow an independent inquiry, the Rise review, which concluded the NMC endangered public safety and had a "dysfunctional" and "toxic" culture.
- While Rees states the NMC is undergoing major leadership changes and improving case handling times, he warns that a full turnaround will take years.