Catalogue description United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting: Single Professional Register and Index of Nurses in Training (SPRINT-UK) Dataset

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Details of KN 2
Reference: KN 2
Title: United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting: Single Professional Register and Index of Nurses in Training (SPRINT-UK) Dataset
Description:

The Single Professional Register and Index of Training (SPRINT-UK) dataset was used to record and maintain information relating to nurses, midwives, health visitors and potential applicants for training who took the relevant examinations. It was both a professional register and an index of training. One of its key functions was public protection. Employers and others were able to check with the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) the current registered status of any nurse, midwife and health visitor and their entitlement to practise.

The data includes name, address and personal details as well as qualification details, periods and areas of practice both in UK and abroad and an indication if the individual has been subject to a professional conduct investigation. Payment processing details for registration fees are also part of the system.

The register as maintained by the NMC today has only three parts. However, when first set up in 1983, the register had quite a complicated structure. There were 11 parts, covering the different branches of nursing (mental health, children, learning disability and adult) and different levels reflecting former types of training and qualifications. The 11 parts were for: Registered General Nurse, Enrolled Nurse (General), Registered Mental Nurse, Enrolled Nurse (Mental), Registered Nurse for the Mentally Handicapped, Enrolled Nurse (Mental Handicap), Enrolled Nurse, Registered Sick Children's Nurse, Fever Nurse, Registered Midwife and Registered Health Visitor. This allowed the Council to assume responsibility for registering all nurses, midwives and health visitors in the UK.

By 1989 the register had increased to 15 parts. The new parts were for: qualified students following a course of preparation in adult nursing; qualified students following a course of preparation in mental health; qualified students following a course of preparation in mental handicap nursing; and qualified students following a course of preparation in children's nursing.

SPRINT contains data in the following categories:

  • Registration details about practitioners.
  • Educational and professional qualifications of practitioners.
  • Details of training courses undertaken and training institutions attended by potential applicants.
  • Declarations of good character of practitioners (e.g. from employers).
  • Overseas registration of nurses and midwives.
  • Financial information: payments made by practitioners.

The datasets in this series are available to download. Links to individual datasets can be found at piece level.
Date: 1984-2002
Arrangement:

Hardware: IBM mainframe (S/390) operated by EDS.

Operating System: OS/390 (also known as MVS and z/OS).

Application Software: Software AG's software products: ADABAS, Natural, Predict and Complete. Version 6.2.1 of the ADABAS database system was used. The programming languages used were VS COBOL, version 2 and Natural, version 2.3.2.

Logical structure and schema: The SPRINT data for 1984-2002 is held in a single dataset comprising 51 tables.

The dataset is closed, in the sense that no new information is entered into the existing database.

How data was originally captured and validated: Initially, part of the data was migrated from earlier electronic systems that had been maintained by predecessor bodies, part captured from the outgoing bodies' manual systems and part directly from registrars between 1982 and early 1984. Registrations were made by individual practitioners - nurses, midwives and health visitors. The UKCC provided practitioners with a PIN card with a number, as a receipt for the registration fee. In addition, a statement of entry form was issued. (Neither of these documents were regarded as proof of registration however.) Common processing actions in the registration category included:

  • Initial registration
  • Recording a practitioner's related professional qualifications
  • Renewals: registrations needed to be renewed when expired, or when the registered person had gained new qualifications
  • Replacement of lost and stolen PIN cards
  • Registration of European Union members
  • Annual record of intention to practise

Registration confirmation actions could confirm, to an individual or organisation, that the practitioner was not under investigation by Professional Conduct, struck off the register, or under caution. By setting or removing Professional Conduct flags, users could indicate on the database that a practitioner had been the subject of an investigation. 'Caution' judgements could likewise be recorded.

The database recorded the qualifications of the applicant. At time of transfer, the NMC records only the following Post-Registration qualifications: Specialist Practice, Teaching and Nurse Prescribing. Practitioners wishing to work overseas were sometimes required to get their registration status verified with overseas authorities.

The database recorded the qualifications of the applicant. At time of transfer, the NMC records only the following Post-Registration qualifications: Specialist Practice, Teaching and Nurse Prescribing. Practitioners wishing to work overseas were sometimes required to get their registration status verified with overseas authorities.

Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in The National Archives: CRDA/50
Legal status: Not Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, 1983-2002
Physical description: 2 datasets and documentation
Restrictions on use: Some fields are closed as they are registered under the Data Protection Act.
Access conditions: Open unless otherwise stated
Immediate source of acquisition:

In 2010 the United Kingdom National Digital Archive of Datasets
Custodial history: Originally transferred from the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC). The United Kingdom National Digital Archive of Datasets (NDAD) then held the dataset until 2010 when it was transferred to The National Archives (TNA).
Accruals: No further accruals are expected.
Unpublished finding aids:

Extent of documentation: 20 documents, Dates of creation of documentation: 1983-2002

Administrative / biographical background:

The Single Professional Register and Index of Training (SPRINT-UK) was used by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) as a tool for accountability. It demonstrated how the UKCC met its obligations under Section 10 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979, and Section 7 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1997.

SPRINT-UK was created by Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS) under contract to the UKCC. The UKCC has since been replaced by its successor body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which came into being 01 April 2002. The Nursing and Midwifery Council is an organisation set up by Parliament to protect the public by ensuring that nurses and midwives provide high standards of care to their patients and clients. The NMC continues, like the UKCC, to maintain a register of qualified nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses. Their new database contains the same registrants, but the coverage and structure of the new database is not necessarily the same as SPRINT-UK.

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