NMC register fraud investigations: hearings to start soon
Posted 20 February 2024 - 13:44
Nursing regulator said 48 people under suspicion of gaining fraudulent access to the UK register will face investigation panels in the spring
Hearings for dozens of nurses working in the NHS who are suspected of joining the UK register fraudulently are expected to start in spring, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said.
Some 48 nurses will face individual hearings in front of an independent investigating panel that could take place in March and April. Anyone found to have fraudulently gained registration will be struck off the register.
Anomalous data emerged from test centre
The nursing regulator uncovered widespread fraud at Nigerian test centre Yunnik Technologies last year, with hundreds of applicants to the register possibly obtaining fraudulent results. The NMC’s initial investigation found evidence of individuals other than the applicants sitting the tests as proxies.
Pearson VUE, which runs a computer-based test of competence (CBT) programme on behalf of the NMC, alerted the regulator to what it considered anomalous data at the Nigerian test centre in May 2023. In total, 1,955 candidates took their CBT at the centre and they will all be expected to retake the test if they want to join the UK register.
By 11 January, 1,345 of the 1,955 individuals had booked or retaken their tests, the NMC said. It said passing the CBT on retake would not guarantee individuals could remain on or rejoin the register.
Review of NMC register applications
Around 669 applicants may have obtained their CBT result fraudulently. This group’s applications will be reviewed by an assistant registrar if they get a new CBT and meet all other requirements. There is no guarantee these individuals will be able to join the register if they pass their resit.
The NMC said that, as of 10 January, around 80 of these 699 applicants had obtained a new CBT but due to ‘serious concerns’ about the ‘vast majority’ of them, they were not accepted on to the register. Of these, 41 have appealed.
NMC registrants with invalidated test results but not under suspicion of fraud
There are a further 467 registrants whose CBT was invalidated but who will not be investigated further for fraud, and 771 applicants wishing to join the register against whom there is insufficient evidence of fraud. All these individuals will be able to stay on or join the register without further action if they pass their CBT resit.
NMC chief executive Andrea Sutcliffe said: ‘Internationally educated nurses and midwives make an important contribution to our health and social care system. However, our paramount concern is to protect the public by maintaining the integrity of the register.’
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