NMC chair commits to tackling discrimination following racism row

Sir David Warren said having zero tolerance for racism was at the heart of the effective running of the NMC, which regulates over 800,000 professionals working across the UK.

“Zero tolerance of racism, discrimination, bullying, harassment, and other discriminatory activity is at the heart of the effective running of the organisation”

David Warren

It comes as Dawn Brodrick resigned yesterday as interim chief executive and registrar of the NMC, just days before she was set to formally take up the role, due to widespread criticism of her involvement in a high-profile NHS race discrimination case.

Following the backlash, the NMC said today (3 July) that it was reflecting on the events of this week and how it can improve its processes.

It also announced that Helen Herniman, who is currently the NMC’s executive lead for the people and culture review investigations, would step up as acting chief executive and registrar while the NMC moved to appoint someone on an interim basis.

Ms Brodrick was due to replace Andrea Sutcliffe, who will be stepping down on Thursday (4 July) due to ill health.

However, The Independent reported yesterday that staff had come forward, worried that her appointment would mean that the NMC would not take the issue of racism seriously.

Concerned health leaders also told Nursing Times of their shock that the due diligence of the NMC did not regard Ms Brodrick’s association to an NHS race discrimination case as a potential concern.

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

The trust was made to pay £1 million to IT manager Richard Hastings, after a tribunal concluded that he had been unfairly dismissed and suffered racial discrimination.

Nursing Times pressed the NMC’s governing council today on what assurances it could give registrants that the regulator would take anti-racism seriously, following this week’s revelations.

Chair of the NMC, Sir David Warren, said he would give “absolute assurance” of the NMC’s commitment to anti-racism “without equivocation or ambivalence”.

“I’m going to give absolute assurance on behalf of all members of council, that this is front and centre of the work of the organisation, in its in its regulatory activities [and] in its activities in supporting the professionals on our register,” he said.

“Anti-racism, zero tolerance of racism, discrimination, bullying, harassment, and other discriminatory activity is at the heart of the effective running of the organisation.

“That will be front and centre of the council’s work going forward.”

The controversy this week has come ahead of the publication of a major review into the NMC’s culture, which is due to be published next week.

Sir David Warren

Sir David said he did not want to “prejudge the report”, which has promised to be the most rigorous assessment of the regulator’s culture to date, but that the NMC would implement all the recommendations to “become a stronger organisation in the future”.

He added: “I want to give that assurance, I want to give it out quickly, and I want to give it clearly to all of you that are here.

“And I know that that reflects the commitment of everybody around the table, the executive of the organisation and the members of council.”

Sir David did not comment further on Ms Brodrick’s appointment and swift resignation but continued to defend the NMC’s due diligence processes.

“It’s been reported in the press about the nature of the process, the due diligence which was conducted and the confidence that I had, and the other members of the panel had.

“And it was, I will emphasise, an ethnically diverse panel.”