Nurse Who Used Someone Else's Passport To Get Job Cautioned By Regulator

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 09 Sep 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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A nurse who was given a 3-month prison sentence on 15 June 2007 at the Crown Court at Inner London has received a 5-year Caution Order from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Yvonne Adusei, a 38 year old adult nurse from Barking, Essex was convicted of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception and of using a false instrument. Her offences related to using a Dutch passport to which she was not entitled in order to gain employment as a nurse.

On making their decision, the independent panel of the Conduct and Competence Committee took into account that although her actions were of a serious nature, there was no evidence that her behaviour would have caused direct or indirect patient harm. Ms Adusei showed insight into what she did wrong and appeared at the hearing to deliver a heartfelt apology. The panel noted that she has a previous good history with no repetition of her behaviour since the incident.

Commenting on the panel's decision, NMC spokesperson Leila Harris-Ryberg said:

"The NMC's Code of Professional Conduct requires those on the register to adhere to the laws of the country they are working in, and to behave in a way that upholds the reputation of the profession. Clearly Ms Adusei's actions fell outside these standards. However, in light of her previous good history and insight into her failings, the panel took the view that a 5 year Caution Order was a sufficient sanction in order to protect the public interest."

The Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) is the UK regulator for two professions, nursing and midwifery. To be eligible to work as a nurse or midwife in the UK, they must be registered with the NMC. There are currently more than 674,000 nurses and midwives on the register. The primary purpose of the NMC is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the public. It does this through maintaining a register of all nurses and midwives to practise within the UK and by setting standards for their education, training and conduct.

Nursing and Midwifery Council