27 November 2025

New Regional Standards for Person Centred Nursing and Midwifery Documentation are being developed to replace the current standards ‘Standards for person centred nursing and midwifery record keeping practice’. The update is required to reflect that many nurses, midwives and healthcare support workers work within organisations that use digital systems to record information. It is recognised that recording information on paper will continue. This guidance will outline standards applicable to both digital and paper-based recording, supporting best practice across nursing and midwifery.

This important work has been led by NIPEC, Gary Cousins, Senior Professional Officer and taken forward through the establishment of a Task & Finish Group co-chaired by Fiona O’Neill, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Information Officer, NHSCT and Lisa Dullaghan, Assistant Director of Nursing SEHSCT. Representation on the group has included HSC Trusts, Independent Sector organisations, Education Providers, Professional Bodies, GP/Primary Care colleagues, Department of Health and the Public Health Agency.

It is anticipated that the new standards will be launched in early 2026.