UK Nurse Suspended for Poor Handwriting and Poor Record Keeping

UK Nurse Suspended for Poor Handwriting and Poor Record-Keeping

Fellow Nurses Africa, 25th February 2026

A nurse in the UK has been suspended from the UK nursing register for 12 months after a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel ruled that serious failings in his practice – including poor handwriting, inadequate record-keeping, medicines management issues and communication problems.

The decision follows a virtual fitness to practise hearing held between 16 and 20 February 2026. It concerns Denis Sally, a band 5 registered adult nurse who worked at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.

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Mr Sally joined the trust in August 2022 as an internationally educated nurse and received his NMC registration later that year. Concerns about his competence emerged soon after and continued over many months.

The panel found all 17 charges proved on the balance of probabilities. These covered four main areas:

• Record-keeping – including repeated illegible handwriting that made notes hard or impossible to read, failure to document important changes (such as ventilation settings), incorrect fluid balance records, and unclear care plans.

• Communication – problems with handovers, failing to pass on vital patient information, not escalating deteriorations, and not following or clarifying doctors’ instructions.

• Medicines management – errors in preparing doses, including wrong calculations and being unable to read prescriptions properly.

• Clinical procedures – mistakes such as not flushing lines correctly, over-flushing, and preparing feeds unsafely.

Witness statements provided detailed examples of these issues. Here are key instances and quotes from colleagues:

On illegible handwriting and record-keeping risks
A Band 7 nurse (Witness 1) stated: “Denis’ shift notes that detail what has happened to the patient were also illegible and were unable to be referred back to for clarification when needed… Failure to document accurately can pose a danger to a child’s life. For example, failing to note or noting an incorrect fluid balance could dehydrate or overload a child, and potentially kill them.”

On medicines management errors
A supervisor (Witness 4) reported a serious morphine dosing mistake: “Medic instructed Denis to increase the morphine infusion to 15mcg/kg/hr, Denis misheard and increased to 50mcg/kg/hr when our patient was 7 days old… Denis didn’t understand why 50mcg would be a dangerous number, he just shrugged it off…”

On clinical procedures and escalation
Witness 3 explained a suction failure: “I had to take over care because Denis did not recognise the need for or give the patient suction when needed… If you don’t remove the secretions from the airway, the tube will block and the patient could have a respiratory deterioration and potentially risk respiratory arrest and death…”

The panel noted that no patients came to actual harm. It described this as “sheer good fortune”, thanks to the quick actions and vigilance of other staff who stepped in repeatedly.

The NMC concluded that Mr Sally’s lack of competence impaired his fitness to practise. It highlighted ongoing issues despite support, limited insight on his part, and the high vulnerability of children in his care.

A 12-month suspension order was imposed, together with an 18-month interim suspension to allow time for any appeal.

The full reasons are available on the NMC website.

This case serves as a clear reminder of the essential standards in UK nursing. Accurate, legible records and strong communication are vital for safe care, effective team working and patient protection especially in paediatrics. Poor performance in these areas is a frequent reason for NMC action.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council protects the public by regulating over 800,000 nurses, midwives and nursing associates across the UK.

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