Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing
Suspended from practice — 9 months
The regulator’s term: suspension
What does “suspended from practice” mean?
A suspension is a fixed-term pause on the right to practise. The practitioner cannot work in the regulated profession during the suspension. At the end of the period the suspension may be extended, replaced with another sanction, or lifted on review.
Concerning Patience Kandenga, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 18A1835E).
Decision date: 12 March 2026 · Hearing started 13 August 2025 and ended 12 March 2026
In plain English
The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that registered nurse Patience Kandenga, while caring for a vulnerable child at home in March 2021, made inaccurate records, failed to follow the care plan, used her phone and slept on a waking shift, and acted dishonestly about the records she created. The panel decided her fitness to practise is currently impaired and imposed a 9-month suspension order with a review, plus an 18-month interim suspension order.
Charges
Between 22 and 23 March 2021, in relation to Patient A: created inaccurate records (water administration, oxygen saturations and heart rate monitoring, oxygen delivery, vital sign observations, no clinical concerns when seizures occurred, medication checks); provided poor care (insufficient water, removed continuous oxygen and heart-rate monitor, inadequate vital sign observations, slept while on waking duty, used personal mobile phone, failed to follow seizure care plan); failed to make accurate contemporaneous records; administered expired medication; followed poor manual-handling practices; failed to wear mask or gloves. Charge 1a) was found dishonest. In relation to Patient B (Dec 2020 – Apr 2021): failed to complete a prescribed safety checklist and failed to report out-of-stock medication.
Findings
The Fitness to Practise Committee found a number of charges proved by admission and others on disputed facts (some charges, including 1a)vi), 1d) and 3b), were not proved). The panel found that the proven facts amounted to misconduct and that Mrs Kandenga's fitness to practise was currently impaired on both public-protection and public-interest grounds. The panel noted limited insight, that dishonesty was confined to one patient on one shift, and that remediation was incomplete. It imposed a 9-month suspension order with a review, and an 18-month interim suspension order to cover the appeal period.
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Mitigating factors
Early admission of some of the facts; some insight and remorse; some evidence of training courses and certificates; oral evidence about how she would avoid similar failings in future; two reflective pieces relevant to the regulatory concerns.
Aggravating factors
Patient A was a vulnerable child; the facts found proved are serious and there was a risk of harm; limited insight into the regulatory concerns; multiple and deliberate breaches of the Code; dishonesty regarding Patient A's records; a breach of trust.
Source
All facts on this page are drawn from the publicly published Nursing and Midwifery Council determination linked below. MedicWatch does not editorialise the regulator’s findings.
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