Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing
NMC panel suspends nurse Michael Apruebo over aggressive treatment of vulnerable patient
The Nursing and Midwifery Council's Fitness to Practise Committee has suspended nurse Michael Anjo Apruebo for six months after finding he shouted at a vulnerable dementia patient, clicked his fingers in the patient's face and behaved in an aggressive and intimidating manner.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 14 May 2026 · Updated 10 July 2026
Suspension (suspended from practice) — 6 months
Added to MedicWatch: 10 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 Michael Anjo Apruebo, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 20C0615O).
Decision date: 14 May 2026 · Hearing started 13 May 2026 and ended 14 May 2026
In plain English
The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that Michael Anjo Apruebo, a nurse at Royal Derby Hospital, acted in an aggressive and intimidating manner towards a vulnerable patient with dementia during a night shift in February 2023, shouting at him, ordering him back to bed and clicking his fingers in his face. The panel found his fitness to practise impaired and imposed a six-month suspension order with a review.
Charges
That, as a registered nurse, on 24-25 February 2023, in respect of Patient A, he acted in an aggressive and/or intimidating manner in that he: (a) shouted at them; (b) ordered them to 'get back to bed'; (c) on one or more occasions clicked his fingers in their face; and (d) said to them 'I'm in charge, I'm in charge of the whole ward and I'm recording you' or words to that effect. All charges found proved.
Findings
The panel found all four charges proved on the balance of probabilities, determining that Mr Apruebo acted in an aggressive and intimidating manner towards Patient A, a vulnerable patient with vascular dementia who wanted to go home and call his daughter. It found the conduct amounted to misconduct, that Patient A suffered at least psychological harm, and that fitness to practise is impaired on public protection and public interest grounds, noting Mr Apruebo had not engaged with the NMC since March 2023. A six-month suspension order with a review was imposed, with an 18-month interim suspension order to cover the appeal period.
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Mitigating factors
Felt unsupported in the workplace as a result of the racial language used against Mr Apruebo previously whilst working; racial language/comments allegedly directed at Mr Apruebo by Patient A.
Aggravating factors
Actual harm caused to Patient A; risk of harm to other patients and their relatives witnessing the incidents, which may have deterred them from seeking further care; lack of any evidence of remorse; Patient A was a vulnerable patient; abuse of a position of trust; very limited insight.
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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