I want to sign off 2019 with a big thank you to everyone who has supported me in my first few months at the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). The best jobs in my view give you an opportunity to work with smart, passionate people. They also deliver opportunities, challenges and a scope to do better. I am delighted to say that from sessions with my team, my review of our operations and in my initial visits to our partners and peers in the sector I have not been disappointed. I am truly excited about the positive impact that we can make, together, during 2020.

Our strategic plan for the period 2020-2022 has been prepared and will provide us with a clear direction as the Regulator for the nursing and midwifery professions in Ireland. We will remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting patients and other members of the public by supporting our talented, caring and impactful registered nurses and midwives. Also, in our capacity as Regulator, we will work proactively - as a leader and partner - to support the highest standard of care in Ireland. As we do this, I look forward to extending our outreach further and meeting more of you.

One practical piece of business that I want to bring to your attention is the December 31 deadline for the payment of your annual registration fee. I would encourage you to read the overview below and note in particular the methods of payment.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our registered nurses and midwives, and our partners in education, business and government a well deserved, and very Merry Christmas and New Year.

Sheila McClelland

The ARF deadline is 31 December 2019.

In preparation for the launch of a new digital system next year NMBI is no longer accepting payments by bank draft, postal money order, electronic file transfer, personal cheques or cash.

We would ask registrants to consider paying through an alternative method.

Making it easier to pay with ‘My Account’

We strongly encourage all nurses and midwives to set up an online account through My Account.

Over 70% of nurses and midwives now use My Account to pay the ARF.

Using My Account will make the transition to a new digital system in 2020 easier for you.

When you login to pay the ARF, please ensure that all your contact details are correct.

For more information about using My Account please see our information page.

The Options for ARF Payment are:

Online

To set up an online account with the NMBI please visit our website and click into the My Account tab at the top right of the screen. When logging in for the first time, you will need to use your Personal Identification Number and the Personal Security Number previously issued to you by the NMBI.
If you have forgotten or lost this number please contact our call centre on 1890 200 116 or 01 639 8500 and select option 1. Alternatively, these will be issued to you by NMBI in your ARF notification letter.

If you have already created an online account with NMBI you are only required to use the email address and the password you already provided when you initially set up your account. There is no requirement for you to use the Personal Security Code as this is only used for first time account set up. If you have forgotten your password, please click on the "Forgotten Password" link on our website.

Phone

You can contact our dedicated payments line on 1890 200 116 or 01 639 8500 and select option 1 to make your payment by debit or credit card. This 1890 line is open from 9.00am – 5.30pm Monday to Friday.

NMBI is no longer taking direct debits and partial payments for ARF 2020

As we are preparing to launch a new digital system next year, we are streamlining everything in advance in order to make the transition easier for registered nurses and midwives.

NMBI is no longer accepting partial payments and direct debits for the ARF 2020 payment cycle and we would ask registrants to pay through the online or phone methods.

Please visit the NMBI website for further details.

NMBI's 100 Years of Nursing Regulation in Ireland: Past, Present and Future conference took place on Thursday 24 October 2019 in the Clayton Hotel, Liffey Valley.

The conference opened with a video message from the Minister for Health, Simon Harris.

In his address the Minister said, “It is a great opportunity to reflect on where we started from 100 years ago and what has been achieved”.

There were a number of sessions throughout the day on topics such as:

• Regulation and changing healthcare
• Nursing regulation for the past 100 years
• Code of professional conduct and ethics for registered nurses and midwives
• The importance of regulation
• The future of regulation

More information about the event and presentations from speakers are available on the NMBI website at 100 Years of Nursing Conference.

NMBI is seeking expressions of interest from public interest representatives to participate in the work of the following committees: Midwives Committee, Registration Committee, Fitness to Practise Committee.

Public interest representatives must not be, or ever have been, registered as a nurse or as a midwife in this, or in any other jurisdiction.

The closing date for applications is Friday, 10 January 2020.

Visit our website for more information.

The NMBI National Student Midwife Debate 2019 took place on Friday, November 29 at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Over 90 people were in attendance. The event was also live streamed.

Declan Devane, Professor of Midwifery at National University of Ireland, Galway hosted the event with Siobhan Canny, Group Director of Midwifery, Saolta moderating the debate.

The motion for debate was: "This house believes that midwifery skills are being lost as technology is promoted in all stages of pregnancy, labour and birth.”

The winning team of Simone Lepage, Student Midwife NUI Galway, Erica Fenner, UCD and Clara Devine, UCD debated against the motion. They were challenged by Ellen Mc Carragher, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Lily O’Shea, Hitchen University of Limerick and Bridie Abu, TCD who debated in favour of the motion.

The prize for overall best speaker went to Simone Lepage.

Further coverage and images are available on the NMBI website

NMBI were invited to speak at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) annual conference in Manchester which took place on 24 - 25 September.

The presentation related to the development of a National Student Midwife Clinical Competency Assessment Tool.

The RCM was attended by over 2,500 midwives from all fields of midwifery practice (clinical, education, research, policy development and regulation).

The presentation is available to view on the NMBI website

Board Decisions in Cases of Convictions

In cases where a complaint is made to the Preliminary Proceedings Committee (PPC) concerning a conviction for a triable offence, the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 provides for the PPC to refer the complaint to the Board of NMBI for consideration. The Board has the option to cancel the registrant’s registration.

The Board decided to cancel the respective registrations of Ms Anne Moffatt (PIN: 47787) and of Mr Steven Andrew McGinty (PIN: 59499).

Decisions following Fitness to Practise Inquiries

The Board of NMBI has made a decision as to findings and sanctions arising from a complaint received under the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011.

Findings were made against Mr Richard Amoako (PIN 145612).

The decisions are published in full on NMBI's Findings and Decisions page.