The discovery was made after a concern was raised by a staff member following the launch of a speak up programme launched in the wake of a July 2024 review that highlighted a culture of with bullying, harassment, racism and failures of systems.

Chief executive and registrar, Paul Rees, who was appointed in July 2025 as a part of a new leadership team, said: ‘I would like to apologise for the fact that for a period of 12 years, we failed to ensure that all health and character declarations were assessed in line with our full process. This is completely and utterly unacceptable.'

Up to 15 nursing or midwifery professionals could be removed from the nursing and midwifery register of 867,935 (0.002%) as a result of a review prompted by the concern.

The NMC is asking 421 nursing and midwifery professionals to provide further information for a more a detailed assessment by an assistant registrar.

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UNISON head of professional services Gail Adams said: ‘This is a serious system failure that should never have been allowed to happen.

‘It beggars belief this could have continued so long, particularly when the NMC has operated under greater scrutiny because of other mistakes.'

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Nurses and midwives play a vital role in our NHS and it's essential that the public has confidence in the register, which is why we are supportive of the Nursing and Midwifery Council's new leadership addressing the historic issues it inherited.

‘Under its new leadership, the (NMC has been open with us about this historic past failure and we welcome their thorough response, which has included a rapid review of all affected cases. 

‘We will continue to work closely with the NMC and colleagues across all four nations to ensure the highest standards of patient safety and prevent this from ever happening again.'