Racism row forces NMC to appoint second CEO in a week
Posted 03 July 2024 - 16:30
Helen Herniman is now in post as nurse regulator’s chief executive after previous interim chief had to resign after just 24 hours in post after racism row
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has announced the appointment of a second chief executive just days after a racism row prompted the new appointee to step down after being in post for less than 24 hours.
NMC staff raised concerns over Dawn Broderick’s appointment
On Thursday 28 June the NMC announced the appointment of Crown Prosecution Service director Dawn Broderick as interim chief executive to replace Andrea Sutcliffe who is stepping down due to ill health.
Ms Broderick started her role on Monday 1 July but left the same day after backlash from staff around her links to a high-profile race discrimination case, according to the Independent newspaper.
Following the announcement, a number of NMC staff reportedly raised concerns to directors after it emerged Ms Broderick had worked as chief people officer and head of HR at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust when it was found to have racially discriminated against former IT manager Richard Hastings.
Mr Hastings was later awarded £1 million for unfair dismissal and the trust apologised after the tribunal noted a number of failures in its HR processes.
NMC emphasises its ‘zero tolerance of racism and discrimination’
Ms Broderick resigned from the NMC on Monday evening, the Independent reports.
At a council meeting on Wednesday 3 July, NMC chair David Warren announced that the new interim chief executive would be Helen Herniman who is the regulator’s director of resources and technology services.
Addressing the meeting he said nurses and the public have ‘absolute reassurance’ that anti-racism is front and centre of the work of the NMC in its regulatory activities and when ensuring the public has trust in its work.
‘Zero tolerance of racism, discrimination, bullying, harassment and other discriminatory activities is at the heart of not just the effective running of the organisation, but the effective delivery of its regulatory functions and support for professionals.
‘That will be front and centre of the council’s work… to become a stronger organisation in the future.’
In a statement, the NMC added it would be ‘reflecting on what has happened over the past week and how we can improve the process.’
Regulator awaits findings of investigation into its workplace culture
Concerns about the due diligence and appropriateness of her appointment were raised in relation to the independent review examining the NMC’s own ‘toxic’ workplace culture.
Earlier this year former chief crown prosecutor in north west England Nazir Afzal was appointed to lead an investigation into the NMC’s internal culture after allegations of racism, sexism and lack of freedom to speak up. His findings will be published in the People and Culture report on 9 July.
Speaking at the public council meeting, outgoing CEO Andrea Sutcliffe urged colleagues to seize the ‘golden opportunity to move things forward,’ and to take the findings of the report ‘seriously’ so that all employees had a consistent and positive experience within the organisation.
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