Editorial standards

Ownership and funding

Nursing News UK is independently published. The launch content is self funded and there is no paid or sponsored content.

We do not publish claims about an address, staff size or regulated media status.

Funding does not buy favourable coverage. Any future commercial relationship that could be relevant to an article would need a clear disclosure beside that coverage.

Source hierarchy and verification

We prefer primary sources such as legislation, parliamentary records, official statistics, government publications, regulator material, NHS bodies and original documents from professional organisations. Direct links appear in the source list for each article.

Secondary reporting and stakeholder statements can provide context or identify matters to examine. Claims from interested organisations are attributed to them and are not presented as representative evidence unless the underlying method supports that conclusion.

Verification includes checking dates, figures, document status, geography and whether a measure is proposed, consulted on, approved or in force. Where the evidence has limits, the article should state them. We do not imply independent verification when only one attributable source is available.

Editorial labels

News, Analysis and Explainer labels describe different editorial purposes. News reports a current development. Analysis examines evidence, consequences and limits. Explainer material sets out how a policy, process or professional question works.

Labels do not remove the need for factual accuracy. Analysis should separate evidence from interpretation and should not disguise campaigning as neutral reporting.

Corrections and visible updates

Readers can send a specific correction request to corrections@nursingnewsuk.co.uk with the article link, the disputed passage and supporting evidence. We assess the source record and the significance of the issue.

When a material factual error is confirmed, the article can be corrected and carry a visible update note explaining the substance of the change. Minor spelling or layout repairs may be made without an update note when they do not alter meaning. Publication dates remain distinct from later update dates.

Conflicts and editorial independence

Contributors should disclose a financial, professional or personal conflict of interest that could reasonably affect coverage. The response may include reassignment, a disclosure to readers or a decision not to publish.

Coverage should not be shaped to reward access, favour an organisation or protect a source from fair scrutiny.

Authors and bylines

Every article carries a named byline. Author profiles identify each writer’s editorial role and principal areas of coverage.

Authors are responsible to the publication for accurate sourcing, clear attribution and prompt correction of material errors.

Story images

The generated story illustrations are used to represent themes and are labelled as illustrations. Captions and alternative text should describe what the image represents without implying that it records the reported event.

Photography or official imagery, if used later, should have an accurate credit and should not be presented outside the context supported by its source.

AI assisted production

AI assisted production may support research organisation, drafting, copy checks, data handling and illustration creation. It does not carry editorial responsibility.

Continuing human editorial accountability applies to the published result. Source documents, factual claims, labels, image descriptions and corrections require human judgement before publication or amendment.

Quotations and anonymous sources

Quotations should preserve the speaker’s meaning and be attributed to a traceable public source or to reporting that can support the wording. We do not create quotations or present a paraphrase inside quotation marks.

Anonymous sources may be considered where the information is in the public interest and identification could create a credible risk. An article should explain enough about the source and the reason for anonymity to help readers judge the claim without exposing the person. Unverified anonymous claims should not be treated as established fact.

Comments and moderation

When the comments service is active, comments are premoderated before public display. Relevance, civility, privacy, unsupported allegations, discriminatory abuse, impersonation and spam can inform moderation. A submission is not guaranteed publication.

Moderation decisions do not amount to endorsement of published comments. The future service will identify its data handling in the privacy notice.

Complaints and contact

A complaint should identify the article, the concern and any supporting material. Editorial concerns can be sent to editorial@nursingnewsuk.co.uk and correction requests to corrections@nursingnewsuk.co.uk.

We review complaints in light of the source record, these standards and available publication capacity. We do not promise a fixed response time or an outcome before the evidence has been assessed.