Posted 13 September 2021 - 16:47
Posted 13 September 2021 - 16:47
News
NMC frauds: the 11 bogus registrants whose cases tricked the nursing regulator
Regulator moves against sham nurses, after one was able to practise for two decades
Regulator takes sham nurses off the register after finding they had used false credentials as ‘proof’ of their nursing qualifications
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has removed 11 people from its register following an investigation into use of fake papers.
In one case, a man practised as a nurse – unqualified – for almost 20 years.
Anonymous tip-off about two registrants sparked wider inquiry
An anonymous tip-off to the NMC in 2018 alerting the regulator to two people with fraudulent documentation supposedly from the Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC), prompted the investigation.
More cases came to light when the NMC, which has worked closely with the PNC, compared the fake documents to other entries on the register.
The regulator said 11 people with bogus PNC documents have since been removed from the register. A further six fraudulent entry investigations were closed because no action was needed while another eight are still under investigation.
The NMC stressed its revalidation process would not have picked up the fact the ‘nurses’ were not qualified.
‘Our current process ensures professionals who join our register have the right skills and knowledge to do so’
Andrea Sutcliffe, NMC chief executive
All cases involve people who joined the register between 1999 and 2009 – before the NMC changed its registration process for nurses coming from overseas. Since 2015, international candidates seeking to join the register have been required to pass a competence test and present verified original documents.
The regulator would not say if any of the cases had been referred to the police. However, it confirmed it was considering whether further action was needed, which might include bringing them to the attention of relevant authorities.
Nineteen years of registered nursing practice based on fake documents
Those removed from the register include Dildar Ali, from Sheffield who had worked in the UK as a nurse since June 2001. He was suspended from the register in August 2020 after an anonymous source alerted the NMC to his fraudulent documentation, submitted in 2000.
An investigation found Mr Ali’s PNC registration number was fake. He had never been on the PNC’s nursing records and was not a registered nurse in Pakistan. He was officially removed from the NMC register on 27 August this year.
NMC chief executive Andrea Sutcliffe said: ‘Our international registration process has changed significantly since these fraudulent entries,’ she said.
‘Our current process is much more robust and ensures professionals who join our register have the right skills and knowledge to do so.’
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