Paul Rees

Who Paul Rees is

Paul Rees MBE is the Chief Executive and Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the statutory regulator for nursing and midwifery professions across the UK, which oversees more than 800,000 registered professionals. He joined the NMC on 20 January 2025 in an interim capacity before being confirmed as permanent Chief Executive on 17 July 2025 following an open external recruitment process. Prior to the NMC, Rees served as Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association, and before that led the Royal College of Psychiatrists and held an executive director role at the Royal College of General Practitioners. He is known publicly for driving cultural transformation at the NMC following a damning independent review that found racism, bullying, and toxicity at every level of the regulator, and has spoken in national media about failures in the NMC's handling of cases including that of Lucy Letby. In 2022 he was awarded an MBE for services to mental health and equality, diversity and inclusion, and in 2025 was named Inclusive Leader of the Year at the National B.A.M.E Health & Care Awards.

References for this biography

1. 1.Paul Rees MBE to continue leading NMC as permanent Chief Executive and Registrar – NMC — Confirms permanent appointment as Chief Executive and Registrar from 17 July 2025, interim start date of 20 January 2025, and publication of the Culture Transformation Plan within eight weeks.
2. 2.Paul Rees confirmed as permanent NMC chief executive – Nursing Times — Confirms prior roles at NPA, Royal College of Psychiatrists, and RCGP; MBE awarded 2022 for services to mental health and EDI.
3. 3.NMC Chief Executive, Paul Rees MBE, named Inclusive Leader of the Year – NMC — Confirms 2025 B.A.M.E Health & Care Awards win and Paul Rees's own statement about being the first Black chief executive of a medical royal college, a national community pharmacy body, and a healthcare worker regulator.
4. 4.Paul Rees appointed as permanent NMC chief executive and registrar – Nursing in Practice — Confirms signing of Unison Anti-Racism Charter and introduction of EDI targets under his leadership; context of the independent culture review.
5. 5.23 Portland Place – The Nursing and Midwifery Council — Confirms NMC head office address as 23 Portland Place, London W1B 1PZ.
6. 6.New chief of scandal-hit nursing regulator finally admits: We got it wrong on Lucy Letby – The Independent via AOL — Press coverage confirming Paul Rees's public statements on NMC failures including the Lucy Letby case and handling of sexual misconduct referrals.
7. 7.Paul Rees MBE – LinkedIn — Confirms LinkedIn profile self-identified as Chief Executive and Registrar of the NMC.
8. 8.Paul Rees MBE (@PaulReesMBE) – X — Confirms X/Twitter account self-identified as CEO and Registrar of the NMC; prior roles at NPA and RCPsych also stated.

Notable achievements

• Appointed permanent Chief Executive and Registrar of the NMC on 17 July 2025, following open external recruitment, after joining in an interim capacity in January 2025. Source ↗
• Published a comprehensive three-year Culture Transformation Plan within eight weeks of joining the NMC, informed by hundreds of staff at town hall events. Source ↗
• Named Inclusive Leader of the Year at the 2025 National B.A.M.E Health & Care Awards for his track record in leading organisations through culture transformation. Source ↗
• Awarded an MBE in 2022 for services to mental health and equality, diversity and inclusion. Source ↗
• Described as the first Black chief executive of a medical royal college (Royal College of Psychiatrists), the first Black chief executive of a national community pharmacy body (NPA), and the first Black chief executive of a UK healthcare worker regulator (NMC). Source ↗
• Under his leadership, the NMC signed the Unison Anti-Racism Charter and introduced new EDI targets to confront bias in regulatory processes. Source ↗

What Paul Rees has said

• “National maternity reviews have shone a light on recurring failures in care, and we have a responsibility to listen to what families are telling us and make sure that learning leads to meaningful action.”

  NMC chief executive and registrar · Women's health & gynaecology · 29 Sept 2026 · NMC four-year midwifery strategy targets racism and safety ↗

• “The high-growth era of international recruitment appears to be ending.”

  Chief executive and registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Rising racism blamed for collapse in number of foreign nurses coming to UK ↗

• “I would like to apologise for the fact that for a period of 12 years we failed to ensure that all health and character declarations were assessed in line with our full process. This is completely and utterly unacceptable”

  Chief Executive, Nursing and Midwifery Council · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · UK nurses and midwives who should have been banned have worked for last 12 years ↗

Recent social activity

• It was great for @nmcnews Chair Ron Barclay-Smith and me to meet with Health Minister Karin Smyth on Weds + update her on our steady improvement on Fitness to Practise, with 69.8% of cases being dealt with within 15 months, and our continued embedding of culture transformation. https://t.co/bcgHZlqF8n

  x.com ↗

Where Paul Rees has been quoted

1. NMC chief urges employers to provide preceptorship for new nursesnursinginpractice.com · 29 Sept 2026
2. NMC four-year midwifery strategy targets racism and safetynursinginpractice.com · 29 Sept 2026
3. Rising racism blamed for collapse in number of foreign nurses coming to UKtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
4. UK nurses and midwives who should have been banned have worked for last 12 yearstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Cervical Cancer Screening: Analyzing Recent Guideline Changes Against Current Trends of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Risk FactorsCureus
• Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: biotech firm eyes cervical cancer test breakthroughSouth China Morning Post
• Your strength workout can double as cardio – experts explain how to get both benefitsWomen's Health

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-and-updates/paul-rees-mbe-to-continue-leading-the-nmc-as-permanent-chief-executive-and-registrar/
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-rees-mbe-46629569/
• Xhttps://x.com/PaulReesMBE
• Websitehttps://www.nmc.org.ukpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.