FIGURES from a medical negligence solicitors’s organisation has shown that the number of nurses and midwives struck off from the profession for misconduct has risen sharply in recent years.
An investigation by Medical Negligence Assist has compiled figures which show that the number struck off has more than doubled since 2021/2022.
It comes as a Reading nurse is one of the latest to be dismissed from the profession after a hearing by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for fraudulently claiming for shifts he did not work.
Ruaidhri Cantillon, a former senior nurse in the intensive care unit at Royal Berkshire Hospital, was struck off by the NMC in June for being dishonest about his shifts.
It follows an incident in February 2023, when Cantillon’s manager saw he put in a claim for nine previous shits.
Cantillon admitted he’d used a colleague’s details to authorise the shifts without their knowledge.
The NMC panel heard that he had also increased the pay band for the shifts he had not worked, putting patients at risk as a result of fraud.
Medical Negligence Assist lodged a number of Freedom of Information requests and compiled the data, finding that the number of nurses and midwives registered has risen steadily each year since 2021.
Staff levels were shown to be 9% higher this year than last– but also saw a spike in nurses and midwives struck off, which have nearly doubled in just four years.
A total of 109 nurses and midwives were struck off in the 2021/22, jumping to 191 in the following year.
This has risen further to 214 in the 2023/2024– an increase of 96% compared to 2021/2022.
A full breakdown of their findings is available to view via: medicalnegligenceassist.co.uk/medical-negligence-claims
Medical Negligence Assist provides specialist advice regarding nursing or midwifery negligence.
More information about Medical Negligence Assist is available via: medicalnegligenceassist.co.uk
