The Nurses Registration Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5 c. 94) was an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

It set up the

General Nursing Council The General Nursing Council for England and Wales was established by the Nurses Registration Act 1919 to administer the register of nurses. It was responsible for deciding the rules for admission to the register. There were nine lay members an ...

, and was the culmination of a long campaign led by

Ethel Gordon Fenwick Ethel Gordon Fenwick (née Manson; 26 January 1857 – 13 March 1947) was a British nurse who played a major role in the History of Nursing in the United Kingdom. She campaigned to procure a nationally recognised certificate for nursing, to saf ...

to establish a register of nurses. There was a general register for all those trained in general nursing, and supplementary registers for mental nursing, mental deficiency nursing, fever nursing, paediatric nursing, and for male nurses There was no mechanism for a nurse to transfer from one part of the register to another without re-qualifying. Nurses were to be admitted to the Register if they had, for three years before 1 November 1919, been bona fide engaged in practice and had adequate knowledge and experience of the nursing of the sick.

References

{{reflist Nursing in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1919

See also

References