A 39 year old midwife from Prestatyn, Clwyd, Wales has been suspended from practising for 12 months following a hearing by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in Cardiff.

Meryl McKenna was employed as a Senior Midwife at Wrexham Maelor Hospital between 2004 and 2005 when she made a false statement about her qualifications.

Ms McKenna indicated that she was an instructor in Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) training but the independent panel was presented with evidence proving that she was not and never had been an ALSO instructor.

Commenting on the panel's decision, NMC spokesperson, Leila Harris said: "A midwife has a duty to be honest in all their dealings with their employer. In making false statements regarding her qualifications she has failed to act in such a way to uphold the public's trust and confidence in the profession as set out in her Code of Conduct."

Notes

- The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the UK regulator for two professions, nursing and midwifery. The primary purpose of the NMC is protection of the public. It does this through maintaining a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses eligible to practise within the UK and by setting standards for their education, training and conduct. Currently the number of registrants exceeds 686,000. The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (The Order), sets out the NMC's role and responsibilities.

- The independent panel is selected from a pool of individuals appointed by the Appointments Board. They come from a variety of backgrounds and are not NMC Council members, nor do they sit on any committee of the Council.

Nursing and Midwifery Council