Top barrister to chair nursing watchdog probe prompted by The Independent’s exposes

Three probes have been launched after The Independent exposed ‘culture of fear’ within NMC

Internal NMC review found staff were scared to raise concerns (Getty Images)

A series of independent reviews into shocking concerns about the UK’s nursing regulator, exposed by The Independent, will be chaired by a top barrister.

Ijeoma Omambala KC will head up two reviews into the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which will probe the regulator’s response to allegations raised by a senior whistleblower in a leaked dossier revealed paper last month.

The expose revealed allegations also contained in a secret report which found the NMC has a “culture of fear” among staff, which meant they were scared to raise concerns.

The whistleblower claimed the organisation’s “toxic” culture was leading to failed investigations which left rogue nurses to work unchecked and said racism within the regulator had led to racial bias in how staff treat conduct cases against Black and ethnic minority nurses and patients.

The two investigations, headed by Ms Omambala, will look at the way in which the NMC responded to the whistleblower’s concerns as well as fitness to practice cases where it is alleged to have failed to protect the public.

A third investigation will look at concerns raised about the watchdog’s culture. The NMC will appoint an internal advisory group to advise its council on the scope of this review and who will lead it.

The whistleblower said: “I am extremely concerned at the disjointed and limited scope of each of the investigations commissioned by the NMC. It is my view that there needs to be only one investigation, and that this should cover the concerns that I have raised in my whistleblowing document in full, including institutional racism towards Black and Southeast Asian colleagues, failures by the NMC to address intentional management misconduct, lack of transparency with Parliament and the public, misuse of funds, and a failure by the NMC to comply with its legal obligations.”

In a statement on Thursday, NMC chief Andrea Sutcliff said: “Together with my executive colleagues and our council, I’ve reflected deeply on the recent articles in The Independent about the way we’ve handled some of our Fitness to Practise (FtP) cases, especially those involving discrimination, racism, sexual misconduct, child protection and safeguarding.”

“That’s why we’ve appointed Ijeoma Omambala KC to lead two investigations over the next few months – one into the way we’ve responded to the concerns raised, and another into the fitness to practise cases highlighted in those concerns.”

The Independent’s shocking expose revealed how an internal review launched in 2022 found the watchdog had a “culture of fear” meaning staff are afraid to raise concerns.

A summary of the review was only published after this paper’s reporting and found:

• A “culture of fear” within the NMC in which staff are scared “of making mistakes” and afraid to be honest when errors are made
• Staff under pressure over the “huge” backlogs of investigations and given “unachievable” targets
• One worker said they were “scared of raising [their] head above the parapet” as they did not think concerns would be acted on
• Another said: “We’re drowning, we’re struggling, we’re telling people: we can’t cope with pressure”
• Serious concerns raised over racism within the NMC, including the alleged bullying of Black women
• Staff claiming sexism and misogyny, including pregnant women being treated unfairly

Former health minister Ben Bradshaw has called on the government, the Professional Standards Authority, the Charity Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate the allegations.

The Charity Commission has since opened its own probe into the allegations.

Ms Sutcliff added: “I want to support our professionals to provide that care, and to lead an inclusive, fair and values-driven employer.

“There’s much more to do to instil full trust and confidence in us as we work toward this aim. We need to ask ourselves the hard questions, acting quickly and transparently where we need to improve. We’re in contact with the Charity Commission which has opened a regulatory compliance case into these concerns, and we’ll fully engage with them on this.”