The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has removed hundreds of people from its register in the past five years for fraudulent or incorrect registrations.

Data obtained by Nursing Standard from the NMC revealed that between 2017 and 2021, a total of 101 nurses, midwives or nursing associates were deemed to have deliberately misled the nursing regulator about their qualifications, leading to their removal from the register for a fraudulent entry.

During the same period, a further 144 registrants were removed from the register due to an incorrect registration, most likely due to a mistake made on the application by either the registrant or the NMC.

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Tip-off prompted NMC investigation into fraudulent documentation

The NMC’s interim deputy director of professional regulation Linda Everet said deliberate attempts to deceive the NMC were deemed a fraudulent entry whereas incorrect entries were often an ‘honest mistake’.

‘Our register is more secure than ever, although there’s still the possibility of human error or dishonesty in a very limited number of cases. We take this very seriously, and decisions in these cases are published on our website,’ she told Nursing Standard.

Last year, 11 people were removed from the NMC register following an investigation into the use of fake papers. In one case, a man practised as a nurse – unqualified – for nearly 20 years.

An anonymous tip-off to the NMC in 2018 alerting the regulator to two people with fraudulent documentation supposedly from the Pakistan Nursing Council, prompted the investigation.

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When someone is not honest it reflects badly on us all, says NMC Watch

Founder of NMCWatch, Cathryn Watters, told Nursing Standard cases of the NMC being deliberately misled ‘lets the profession down’.

‘It’s important to think about your colleagues and the impact it has on them rather than on yourself. When someone is not honest it lets the profession down and reflects badly on us all’, she said.