Racist mental health nurse struck off following High Court appeal

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A mental health nurse racist towards her colleagues was struck off the register of nurses after intervention by the High Court.

The Board of Nurses and Midwives’ original decision to suspend Melanie Jayne Hayes of York for only six months has now been overturned.

“I am so sorry that our initial decision was not the right one, and I know how much concern this has caused.”

Andrea Sutcliffe

The stay order was issued at a fitness to practice hearing held by the NMC on May 10, 2021.

The NMC had been called upon to reconsider the case after some members of the profession deemed the suspension too lenient.

Among the racist comments Ms Hayes admitted to referring to NHS colleagues as “lazy … spear throwers” and the use of a racist insult which is usually directed against people of Pakistani descent .

She also said on her last day of work for an NHS trust that she hoped her next job would be “better” as she “would work with a team of whites”.

After a review later in May 2021, the NMC said it recognized and understood the concerns raised by the decision.

The NMC then took the case to its own regulator, the Professional Standards Agency (PSA), and asked it to “consider whether it should exercise its power to appeal the decision to the High Court.”

In July, the PSA said it considered the NMC’s decision “insufficient to protect the public” and agreed to send the case back to the High Court.

This week, it has now been announced that the six-month stay order has been “rescinded” and that Ms Hayes will instead be struck off.

The case was overseen by Deputy High Court Judge Margaret Obi.

However, there was no hearing as the three parties involved – Ms Hayes, the NMC and the PSA – all agreed to a “consent order”.

The consent order called for the six-month stay order to be “rescinded” and “replaced” with a expungement order instead.

“Authority is clear that there is no place for racism in society”

Declaration of public interest

Speaking today, Andrea Sutcliffe, CEO and Registrar of the NMC, said: “I am so sorry that our initial decision was not the right one, and I know how much concern this has caused.

“I hope people feel reassured that by acknowledging this and sending our decision back to the PSA, we have now reached an appropriate result with the High Court ruling that Ms Hayes should be removed from our register.

“We are absolutely committed to learning from this and ensuring that we have the right guidance and training in place to enable ourselves and our independent fitness-to-practice panels to make the right decisions. in cases of racism or any other form of discrimination. “

The PSA also released a statement in response to the ruling in which it called on other healthcare professionals who had experienced racism to speak out with confidence.

The statement read: “The authority is clear that there is no room for racism in society and we will continue to ensure that we and the regulators we oversee work together to take appropriate measures.

“The NMC is committed to learning from this appeal, and we welcome it.

“We want anyone who has been the subject of racism by a healthcare professional to feel able to raise a concern and know that they will be investigated and treated properly. “

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