UK nursing regulator’s new chief resigns after four days following racism row

The official NHS workforce plan for England will be almost 11,000 new nurses behind target by 2025 if current trends continue, according to a new report (Jeff Moore/PA) (PA Wire)

The UK nursing regulator’s new interim chief executive has stepped down just four days into the job after facing widespread staff backlash over her links to a high-profile race discrimination case.

Multiple staff working at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) raised concerns to its directors over the appointment of interim CEO Dawn Broderick, who was head of HR at another trust when it was found to have discriminated against a Black employee.

The Independent can now reveal Ms Broderick resigned from the NMC on Monday evening.

It is the latest in a succession of controversies to hit the nursing regulator, following reports uncovered by The Independent last year. These include allegations from whistleblowers that racism within the NMC was allowing complaints against nurses to go unchecked.

The organisation is set to face the results of a major review into its culture by KC Nazir Afzal and Rise Associates, commissioned following this publication’s investigations.

Staff have come forward to The Independent, warning they do not have confidence the NMC’s board will take the issue of racism seriously.

Ms Broderick’s appointment as CEO was announced on Thursday, following the news that previous chief Andrea Sutcliffe was stepping down.

She was previously in charge of HR at King’s College Hospital London when it was embroiled in a high-profile employment tribunal.

The trust was ordered to pay £1,000,000 to IT manager Richard Hastings in 2018 after it was found he was unfairly dismissed and faced racial discrimination.

Mr Hastings was sacked over assault allegations against him, but a tribunal found that the trust’s investigation ignored his own allegations that he had been subject to racist abuse. It found the disciplinary process consistently painted Hastings as the “aggressor”.

The NMC originally defended the appointment of Ms Broderick as interim chief executive, claiming to have done its due diligence, despite concerns from staff across the organisation. It also defended the appointment of River Effra a reputation management company to deal with the fallout of the review after

The calls come ahead of a major review into the organisation’s culture expected next week which was commissioned following The Independent’s reporting of a whistleblowers concerns.

One senior member of staff at the NMC told The Independent prior to Ms Broderick’s exit: “I’m anxious about the organisation. The leadership is out of touch. I believe the NMC their decision to appoint this person is appalling the two challenges to this organisation is to delay with the caseload and the response to the Rise report.”

They said that despite staff raising concerns the board has “lost sight of the moral values”.

Senior NHS officials have also raised concerns, The Independent understands, as have nurses who are regulated by the NMC.

The NMC was approached for comment.