Two new council members at the NMC

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has appointed two new council members.

Nurse Ruth Walker has been appointed a registrant member and Derek Pretty will serve as a lay member on the regulator's council, a governing body that sets the standards which nurses and midwives must meet to be registered; including for education and training, the NMC code and revalidation.

Directed appointment

Ms Walker is executive nurse director at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, one of the largest health boards in Wales. 

As well as being the professional lead for nurses and midwives, she is a member of the health board where she is lead director for a range of areas including quality, safety, health and care standards and patient experience.

She has also undertaken a number of national and ambassadorial roles on behalf of Welsh nursing. 

Sitting Pretty

Mr Pretty is non-executive chair of South West One Ltd, a public-private shared services partnership in Somerset. 

The NMC council is made up of six members from a registrant background and six from a non-registrant or lay background, and must also include members from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Ms Walker has been appointed as the member from Wales and it is a condition of her appointment that she continues to live or work wholly or mainly in Wales.

NMC council chair Professor Dame Janet Finch, said: 'I am delighted to welcome Derek and Ruth as our two new council members and I look forward to working alongside them. They each bring with them a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise and I’m sure they will make a valuable contribution to the council.'