ABSTRACT
The debate on advanced nursing practice as well as its meaning, value and regulation has been actively ongoing within the UK for well over two decades and continues still (Stilwell et al. 1987; UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting 1998; Farrelly 2014; Rolfe 2014). The level and intensity of this debate increased following the publication of the white paper Trust, Assurance and Safety (Department of Health 2007), which was produced as a direct result of the Shipman Inquiry (Smith 2005) and the Francis Report (2013) following the events at the Mid Staffordshire Trust. There was a renewed focus by the government on protecting the public from the potential dangers of health professionals. This resulted in the report of the Centre for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) on the complexity of professional regulatory issues, and the introduction of the new code of practice and Revalidation (2015), as well as noted the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) continued deliberations and new enthusiasms on advanced nursing practice with regard to definition, regulation and competencies required to practice at this level (Coe et al. 2005). We have also seen the activity and influence of the national Modernising Nursing Careers, a review that was published in January 2010 (Department of Health 2010).
