Cracking Down on Fake Nurses: New Laws Aim to Protect Public Safety

Under new government measures, it will soon be a criminal offence for individuals to falsely claim they are a nurse without the appropriate qualifications and registration. This legal protection of the title ‘nurse’ is designed to enhance public safety and ensure patients receive care and advice from properly trained professionals.

The changes are part of the government’s broader Plan for Change, aimed at raising standards across the NHS, improving patient experiences, and supporting frontline staff. Currently, the title ‘nurse’ is not legally protected, allowing even those previously struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for misconduct or criminal activity to continue using it — misleading the public into thinking they are receiving care from qualified practitioners.

Examples of such misuse include individuals presenting themselves as nurses at public events or in the aesthetics sector after being removed from the professional register.

The new law will include exceptions for legitimate job titles such as veterinary nurse, dental nurse, and nursery nurse.

This move comes in response to strong campaigning from nursing unions and politicians, including Dawn Butler MP, who earlier this year introduced a bill calling for the protection of the nurse title.

As part of ongoing reforms, the government also plans to release an updated workforce strategy this year, ensuring the NHS has the right professionals in the right roles to meet future healthcare needs.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

"Nurses carry out lifesaving work every day, and I am determined we do everything we can to support them and safeguard trust in the profession. 

I’ve been appalled to read reports of so-called nurses spreading dangerous misinformation and harming the public. 

This new legislation will help crack down on bogus beauticians and conspiracy theorists masquerading as nurses, and those attempting to mislead patients.

The British people hold nurses in the highest regard, and we trust them in our most vulnerable moments, so patients need to know they are genuinely being seen by a nurse. Now they will.

This is part of our Plan for Change to fix the NHS and gets the right staff working in the right place at the right time."

Currently, only the title ‘registered nurse’ is legally protected. However, upcoming legislation will expand this protection, making it illegal for anyone not registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to use the title ‘nurse’. Those who break the law could face criminal charges and fines of several thousand pounds.

There have been several concerning cases where individuals falsely claimed to be nurses. In one instance, an unregistered individual ran a cosmetic clinic offering Botox and dermal fillers for years. In another, a former nurse who had been struck off delivered a speech at a COVID-19 conspiracy rally, comparing NHS staff to war criminals and spreading dangerous misinformation about vaccines—all while continuing to call herself a nurse.

A Freedom of Information request also revealed that in 93% of NHS trusts, over 8,000 individuals had ‘nurse’ in their job title despite lacking formal nursing qualifications. While many of these staff members perform valuable care work under supervision, their titles can mislead patients. The new law will clarify this, with exemptions for legitimate roles such as nursery nurses.

Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said:

"The trust that people place in registered nurses is based on the rigorous training and education required to be registered as a nurse, which gives us the skills and knowledge to deliver high quality, safe and personalised care.

Nurses value this trust and protecting the title of nurse can give added confidence and clarity to patients and the public on who is delivering their care and the skills and knowledge they have."

There are already several legal protections in place to prevent individuals from falsely claiming to be nurses. The most severe cases can fall under fraud laws, and depending on the circumstances, offenders may also face charges such as assault, grievous bodily harm, or even manslaughter.

The upcoming legislation, set to be introduced during this Parliament, will build on these existing safeguards, providing clearer and stronger legal consequences for misuse of the nurse title.

Registered nurses undergo rigorous training through accredited undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and must complete revalidation every three years to ensure their skills remain current. These new measures acknowledge the high standards and professionalism required in nursing.

Professor Nicola Ranger, Royal College of Nursing General Secretary and Chief Executive, said: 

This is an important moment for our safety-critical profession, after years of campaigning. 

A change in the law will recognise the knowledge, professionalism and clinical expertise that comes with being a registered nurse. It will provide better legal protections for nursing professionals and reassurance to patients. 

Crucially, this is an opportunity to begin the journey to properly valuing nursing as a profession, where respect, reward and investment match the crucial nature of our work. 

Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, Chief Executive at the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing, said: 

Nurses and the millions of people they care for will benefit by this proposed change in legislation.

This is a patient safety issue that the QICN has been campaigning on for some time. 

People need confidence that when the person caring for them is described as a nurse, that person really is a qualified and registered nurse.

Paul Rees MBE, Interim Chief Executive and Registrar at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, said:

The public should always feel confident that anyone using the title ‘nurse’ is a registered professional with all the safeguards that brings.

We look forward to working with the government and our stakeholders to deliver on it. In the meantime, it is already an offence for somebody to hold themselves out as a registered nurse when they are not.

Helga Pile, UNISON Head of Health, said:

Nurses and other NHS workers rightly enjoy a high level of trust because of the brilliant and important work they do.

Charlatans and conspiracy theorists mustn’t be allowed to harm patients or damage nurses’ reputation and good standing with the public.

It’s only right that anyone that tries to will now feel the full force of the law.

Rachel Power, Chief Executive of The Patients Association, said:

We welcome this commitment to ensuring patients know who is treating them and offering healthcare advice, and that those professionals are properly qualified. With health misinformation increasingly common, it’s more important than ever that patients can trust the expertise of those caring for them.

Alison Morton, CEO, Institute of Health Visiting, said:

The Institute of Health Visiting fully supports the campaign to protect the title ‘nurse’ in legislation. This is urgently needed to protect the public and provide assurance that the person providing their care has the qualifications, knowledge, skills, expertise and professionalism to deliver safe and effective care. Nursing is a safety-critical workforce. And, in our view, there is only one clear path forward - the current gap in legislation needs to be closed as a matter of urgency.

Professor Greta Westwood CBE PhD RN, CEO of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, said: 

We welcome this recognition of the importance of the nursing role. Nurses are skilled and highly trained professionals, playing a key leadership role in the health and social care sectors, particularly around speaking out on patient safety and workforce challenges.

This International Nurses Day, we are coming together to celebrate the incredible work that nurses do across the UK and globally, and we support the government taking this next step, working with the UK regulator, to protect our nurses and those we serve.