Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — review hearing
NMC panel suspends nurse Stefan Popa for 12 months, replacing conditions of practice order
The Nursing and Midwifery Council's Fitness to Practise Committee has replaced nurse Stefan Emil Popa's conditions of practice order with a 12-month suspension, finding his fitness to practise remains impaired over past failings in medication administration and record keeping.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 20 April 2026 · Updated 11 July 2026
Suspension (suspended from practice) — 1 year
Added to MedicWatch: 11 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 Stefan Emil Popa, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 12K0158C).
Decision date: 20 April 2026 · Hearing started 20 April 2026
In plain English
The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that nurse Stefan Emil Popa's fitness to practise remains impaired at a review hearing on 20 April 2026. The panel replaced his conditions of practice order with a 12-month suspension order taking effect on 29 May 2026, finding he had not demonstrated further insight into earlier failings involving medication administration, record keeping and observations following falls.
Charges
The underlying charges, found proved in two earlier cases (069754/2018 and 080864/2020), included: not administering medication to patients or residents as prescribed on several dates; not recording relevant clinical information in patient records; not carrying out or recording observations for patients following falls; not completing incident report forms; not disposing of medication and sharps correctly or recording disposals; delegating medication administration to health care assistants; leaving medication unattended, pre-potting medication, and leaving the medication trolley and clinical room unlocked or unattended without clinical justification; and providing inadequate handovers to colleagues.
Findings
At the first review of a consolidated 12-month conditions of practice order imposed on 30 May 2025, the panel found that Mr Popa's fitness to practise remains impaired on both public protection and public interest grounds. It found he had not provided a current reflective piece, further training or testimonials, had not demonstrated further insight into his previous failings, and had said he has no intention of returning to the UK to practise in the next three to five years, making conditions of practice unworkable. The panel replaced the conditions of practice order with a 12-month suspension order, taking effect at the end of 29 May 2026 in accordance with Article 30(1), to be reviewed before expiry.
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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