Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing
NMC panel suspends Birmingham nurse Tina Orbell over discriminatory social media posts
The Nursing and Midwifery Council has suspended nurse Tina Patricia Orbell for six months after a panel found she shared and commented on social media posts that were offensive, derogatory and discriminatory towards people of different races, religions and immigration statuses.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 23 June 2026 · Updated 9 July 2026
Suspension (suspended from practice) — 6 months
Added to MedicWatch: 9 July 2026Report a correction
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 Tina Patricia Orbell, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 75U2003E).
Decision date: 23 June 2026 · Hearing started 22 June 2026 and ended 23 June 2026
In plain English
The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that Tina Patricia Orbell, a nurse who worked in Birmingham, publicly shared and commented on social media posts between July 2024 and February 2025 that were offensive, derogatory and discriminatory, motivated by hostility or a discriminatory attitude towards people of a different race, religion or immigration status. The panel found her fitness to practise impaired and imposed a six-month suspension order, with an 18-month interim suspension order.
Charges
That you, a registered nurse: between July 2024 and February 2025 publicly shared one or more posts on social media which were offensive and/or derogatory and/or discriminatory; between July 2024 and February 2025 publicly commented on one or more posts on social media and your comments were offensive and/or derogatory and/or discriminatory; and your conduct was motivated by your hostility or discriminatory attitude towards people of a different race and/or religion and/or immigration status.
Findings
The panel found all charges proved. It found the posts shared and commented on across Facebook and Instagram over an extended period contained offensive, derogatory and discriminatory language towards people of different races, religions and immigration statuses, amounting to serious misconduct and indicative of a deep-seated attitudinal concern. Fitness to practise was found impaired on public protection and public interest grounds, with a risk of repetition given limited but developing insight. A six-month suspension order with a review was imposed, with an 18-month interim suspension order to cover any appeal period.
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Mitigating factors
Early admission of the facts; apologies to anyone affected; efforts to prevent similar things happening again, or any efforts to put problems right; relevant training courses; developing reflections and insight; personal mitigation including issues within personal and family life.
Aggravating factors
Conduct which deliberately or recklessly put colleagues, and people receiving care at risk of suffering harm; a pattern of misconduct over a period of time.
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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