PSA v NMC & Anor: High Court quashes NMC sanction, remits for fresh decision

The High Court has allowed an appeal brought by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) against a decision of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), ruling that the regulatory panel’s sanction was insufficient to protect the public and maintain confidence in the profession. The case, Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care v Nursing and Midwifery Council & Anor [2025] EWHC 3132 (Admin), was handed down on 27 November 2025.

The appeal concerned an NMC fitness to practise panel’s decision to impose a suspension rather than erase a registrant from the professional register. The misconduct involved multiple instances of dishonesty, including the failure to disclose previous employers, omissions regarding investigations by earlier workplaces, the non-disclosure of NMC-imposed practice conditions to a new employer, and working in breach of those conditions. The PSA argued that these were serious aggravating features which the panel failed to assess correctly, and that the resulting sanction was unduly lenient.

In its judgment, the High Court agreed. It found that the panel had misapplied the relevant guidance on sanctions by giving insufficient weight to the seriousness of the dishonesty and the breach of regulatory conditions. The Court emphasised that dishonesty—particularly where linked to professional practice or regulatory obligations—strikes at the heart of public trust in the nursing and midwifery professions. As such, the panel’s decision to impose only a suspension did not properly meet the statutory objectives of public protection, maintaining standards, and preserving confidence in the regulatory system.

The Court further held that the panel’s reasoning lacked clarity and rigour. Its explanations for rejecting a striking-off order did not adequately engage with the seriousness of the misconduct or with the need for clear, transparent decision-making in cases involving trust and integrity. These deficiencies rendered the decision flawed and therefore wrong.

As a result, the High Court quashed the NMC’s sanction and remitted the case to a fresh fitness to practise panel for reconsideration. 

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