Cassidy, Andrea M.McIntosh, Bryan2015-06-192015-06-192014Cassidy AM and McIntosh B (2014) The return of autonomy in nursing - A way forward. British Journal of Nursing. 23(11): 562-563.http://hdl.handle.net/10454/7282NoThe Mid Staffordshire scandal is a salutary lesson that highlights unacceptable standards of poor care of patients by medical and nursing practitioners. The Francis report (2013) made 290 recommendations and a legal duty to enforce a duty of openness and transparencies has been prioritised. Fischer and Ferlie (2013) argue that rules-based regulation eroded values-based self-regulation, producing professional defensiveness and contradictions that undermine, rather than support, good patient care. The role of managers and clinical leaders will be crucial in achieving positive changes in practice; however, the return of autonomy to the practitioners remains central to re-establishing both public and professional confidence.enNursing careAutonomyOpennessTransparencyPatient careArticlehttps://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2014.23.11.562