A nurse is taking the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) to court to fight for the rights of fellow whistleblowers and to restore her reputation.
Vasanta Suddock, a Nurse from Devon, told the NursingTimes that she thinks the NMC‘s disciplinary process is significantly weighted against whistleblowers and is now taking the regulator to court for ruining her professional reputation.
Ms Suddock was the matron of a care home when it fell into administration. During the liquidation process she raised concerns around the way the home was run. She claims the organisation made a string of false allegations against her which saw her referred to the NMC.
She was subsequently removed from the nursing register for professional misconduct in 2015.
However, unhappy with the outcome of the trial she took it to the high court. Justice Andrews ruled there was evidence of a “conspiracy” to ruin her reputation and the NMC’s decision was set aside.
She is now seeking damaged of £500,000 for lost income and damages to her professional reputation.
A preliminary hearing date has been set for 30th of June 2017.
Ms Suddock says her primary concern is that nurses who make the decision to whistle-blow will not be protected despite acting in their patients best interests.
The NMC confirmed it knew about the case but refused to comment further; “We can confirm that we have received Ms Suddock’s claim and we are defending it”. “As such, it isn’t appropriate for us to comment because the court proceedings are live”.