• Patients and service users, and those who care for them, can use it to provide feedback to nurses, midwives and nursing associates about the care they receive.
• Those on our register can use it to promote safe and effective practice in their place of work.
• Employer organisations should support their staff in upholding the standards in their professional Code as part of providing the quality and safety expected by service users and regulators.
• Educators can use the Code to help students understand what it means to be a registered professional and how keeping to the Code helps to achieve that.

For the many committed and expert practitioners on our register, this Code should be seen as a way of reinforcing professionalism. The Code is central to the revalidation process as a focus for professional reflection. This gives the Code significance in the professional life of those on our register, and raises its status and importance for employers.

The Code contains a series of statements that taken together signify what good practice by nurses, midwives and nursing associates looks like. It puts the interests of patients and service users first, is safe and effective, and promotes trust through professionalism.

1 Anyone practising as a registered nurse or midwife in the UK, or a nursing associate in England, has to be registered with us. The nursing associate role is being used only in England.

2 We have used the phrase ‘nursing’ in this document to apply to the work of nurses and nursing associates. Nursing associates are a distinct profession with their own part of our register, but they are part of the nursing team.

Prioritise people

You put the interests of people using or needing nursing or midwifery services first. You make their care and safety your main concern and make sure that their dignity is preserved and their needs are recognised, assessed and responded to. You make sure that those receiving care are treated with respect, that their rights are upheld and that any discriminatory attitudes and behaviours towards those receiving care are challenged.

1 Treat people as individuals and francГЄs mulheres para o casamento uphold their dignity

The fundamentals of care include, but are not limited to, nutrition, hydration, bladder and bowel care, physical handling and making sure that those receiving care are kept in clean and hygienic conditions. It includes making sure that those receiving care have adequate access to nutrition and hydration, and making sure that you provide help to those who are not able to feed themselves or drink fluid unaided.

2 Listen to people and respond to their preferences and concerns

2.4 respect the level to which people receiving care want to be involved in decisions about their own health, wellbeing and care

3 Make sure that people’s physical, social and psychological needs are assessed and responded to

3.1 pay special attention to promoting wellbeing, preventing ill health and meeting the changing health and care needs of people during all life stages

3.2 recognise and respond compassionately to the needs of those who are in the last few days and hours of life

3.3 act in partnership with those receiving care, helping them to access relevant health and social care, information and support when they need it

3.4 act as an advocate for the vulnerable, challenging poor practice and discriminatory attitudes and behaviour relating to their care

4 Act in the best interests of people at all times

4.1 balance the need to act in the best interests of people at all times with the requirement to respect a person’s right to accept or refuse treatment