As part of our aim of protecting the public, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland is legally responsible for considering complaints against nurses and midwives who practise in Ireland. Our Fitness to Practise department aims to deal with all complaints fully, fairly and in accordance with the legislation which gives us our regulatory powers.

The upcoming 2022 annual registration renewal window is being extended to allow nurses and midwives more time to register. It will be open for registration from 25 October 2021 until 31 January 2022. We hope the additional time will make the process as user-friendly as possible for our registrants.

NMBI is inviting calls for expressions of interest from registered nurses to fill vacancies on the Preliminary Proceedings Committee and the Fitness to Practise Committee.

Registered Midwives who are on the NMBI Registered Nurse Tutor (RNT) division can apply to be transferred to the Registered Midwife Tutor division (RMT), providing certain criteria are met.

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) took place in early August to raise awareness of the importance of breastfeeding and to improve the health of babies and mothers.

This latest edition of the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) Drug Safety Newsletter includes recommendations and advice issued by the European Medicines Agency's (EMA's) safety committee (the PRAC) to healthcare professionals on a small number of very rare but important adverse reactions associated with Covid-19 vaccines.

A round up of the latest news stories including:

• HSE publishes Capital Plan 2021
• Covid-19 booster vaccines will be available from autumn
• DCU nursing student Sarah Torrans represents Ireland at 2020 Olympics
• DCU unveils portrait of the late Ms Justice Mella Carroll

Aishling Roffe, Clinical Nurse Manager at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service