A linked dataset combining the Nursing and Midwifery Council register with Census 2021 data will be the focus of an Office for National Statistics Research Excellence Series webinar on 24 September.
Of the 732,835 registrants in the rebuilt 2021 NMC extract, only 614,975 lived in England or Wales and were eligible to be linked to Census 2021 data — and of those, 565,680 were successfully matched. That gap between who holds registration and who is actually working matters enormously for NHS workforce planning.
The ONS announced the event on social media, inviting researchers and policy professionals to hear Professor Iain Atherton, Co-Director of the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research and Professor of Nursing and Data Science at Edinburgh Napier University, present findings from an ADR UK-funded data linkage project.
The webinar — titled “Nursing and Midwifery Council Register and Census 2021: Who’s in Practice?” — runs from 10:30am to 11:30am online via Microsoft Teams. The NMC register records who is legally eligible to practise as a nurse, midwife or, in England, a nursing associate. The linked dataset brings that registration data together with Census 2021 for England and Wales, allowing analysis of the demographic, geographic and social profile of the workforce. NMC register snapshots are taken annually as of 31 March, with leavers data covering 2018 to 2021.
Access to the dataset is restricted. It is held through the ONS Secure Research Service and Integrated Data Service, available only to accredited researchers on approved projects.
Key information
- Event: ONS Research Excellence Series webinar — “Nursing and Midwifery Council Register and Census 2021: Who’s in Practice?”
- Date and time: Thursday 24 September, 10:30am to 11:30am
- Format: Online via Microsoft Teams
- Speaker: Professor Iain Atherton, Edinburgh Napier University and Co-Director of SCADR
Source: @ONS