Exclusive: Short-lived NMC chief received no payout

Ms Brodrick resigned at the start of July just before she was due to officially take up the role, following criticism of her involvement in a high-profile NHS race discrimination case.

“The continued failure to address the root causes of the toxic culture identified in the Rise report are costing the NMC an awful lot in reputation”

Roger Kline

She was due to replace the previous chief executive and registrar of the NMC, Andrea Sutcliffe, who stepped down due to ill health.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by Nursing Times to the NMC has revealed that Ms Brodrick did not receive any money for the time she held the post, nor following her departure.

The NMC said that the salary range advertised for the interim post was  £175,000 to £195,000.

Ms Brodrick was not paid any of this salary nor did she receive any lump sum payment, the regulator confirmed.

Following her initial appointment, staff had raised concerns internally that the NMC would not take the issue of racism seriously under Ms Brodrick’s leadership, according to The Independent.

This was because Ms Brodrick was previously chief people officer at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust when it was found to have discriminated against a Black employee.

Richard Hastings, an IT manager at the trust, was dismissed for gross misconduct in October 2015 after he was accused of assault following a dispute in his workplace car park.

A tribunal later found that he was unfairly dismissed and suffered racial discrimination, and Mr Hastings was later awarded £1m.

The change in NMC leadership comes at a crucial time for the regulator, as it reckons with the findings of a damning review into its culture, published earlier this year.

The review, by former chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal and consultancy firm Rise Associates, uncovered bullying, racism and toxic behaviour at every level of the NMC.

Roger Kline

Research fellow Roger Kline, who has authored high-profile reports on race equality and culture issues in the NHS, was one of the individuals to publicly raise the alarm about Ms Brodrick’s appointment.

He told Nursing Times: “Dawn Brodrick’s [appointment] may not have caused the NMC any additional financial costs but her appointment and the continued failure to address the root causes of the toxic culture identified in the Rise report are costing the NMC an awful lot in reputation at a time when nursing and midwifery urgently needs a reputation registrants and the public can have confidence in.”

In August, the NMC restarted the recruitment process for an interim chief executive and registrar, and is still yet to have one in place.

In the meantime, Helen Herniman, NMC executive director of resources and technology services, is covering the top role in an acting capacity.

An NMC spokesperson said: “The interim chief executive and registrar will oversee the establishment of a multi-year programme of work to transform the NMC’s culture and regulatory performance.

“This will be a complex leadership challenge, but it is also an opportunity to have a significant impact on the NMC as we set our organisation on the road to recovery.”

It said it had reflected on Ms Brodrick’s recruitment process and had appointed quality, diversity and inclusion specialists Inclusive Boards to help with the search.

At a meeting of the NMC’s governing council last week, it was announced that a shortlist of candidates had been selected and that interviews will run between 7 and 14 October.

The spokesperson said: “We have included our colleagues in the process, as well as registrant stakeholders from the nursing and midwifery professions and patient representatives.

“Final panel interviews are scheduled for later in the month.

“A diverse panel, consisting of three of our council members and two independent panel members, will aim to make a decision by the end of October.”

Once this recruitment process has concluded, the regulator said it would set out a timeline for appointing a permanent successor. It is aiming to have someone in this post by the end of the year.

The NMC confirmed to Nursing Times that it would time the process so that the new chair of council can take part in the appointment of the permanent chief executive and registrar.

It comes as it was announced last week that the current NMC chair, Sir David Warren, will end his term by March 2025.

Sir David, who has been in post since 2021 but has faced pressure recently to resign in the wake of the culture review findings, will step down once a successor has been chosen to replace him.

The NMC confirmed that Sir David would not be involved in the recruitment of the next chair.