Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing

NMC panel strikes off Panorama-filmed nurse Emma Doherty over derogatory comments about patients

The Nursing and Midwifery Council has struck learning disabilities nurse Emma Elizabeth Doherty off the register after a panel found she made derogatory comments about vulnerable patients at the Edenfield Centre, covertly filmed by BBC Panorama, including saying one "needs a good thrashing".

MedicWatch editorial · Published 19 May 2026 · Updated 10 July 2026

Erasure (struck off the register)

Added to MedicWatch: 10 July 2026Report a correction

What does “struck off the register” mean?

Being struck off (the regulator calls this "erasure") removes the practitioner from the register. They are no longer permitted to practise this profession in the UK. Erasure can be reviewed after a minimum of five years, but is otherwise indefinite.

Concerning Emma Elizabeth Doherty, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 18I0255N).

Decision date: 19 May 2026 · Hearing started 11 May 2026 and ended 19 May 2026

In plain English

The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that Emma Elizabeth Doherty, a learning disabilities nurse filmed in the BBC Panorama programme about the Edenfield Centre in Manchester, made derogatory comments about vulnerable service users — including saying one "needs a good thrashing" and should be sent to prison — and failed to challenge a support worker's derogatory comment. The panel found her fitness to practise impaired and made a striking-off order, with an 18-month interim suspension covering any appeal.

Charges

Charges arising from covert BBC Panorama filming at the Edenfield Centre, Prestwich Hospital, where she was a Band 6 Deputy Ward Manager. Proved by admission or by the panel: describing Service User B as "a pain in the arse"; saying the ward team "won't be feeding into her"; taking no action when a support worker made derogatory comments about Service User B; agreeing Service User A "should be sent to jail"; saying Service User A was in seclusion for "being Service User A"; saying of Service User A "she'll be getting fuck all off me", "send her to prison", she would "soon be brought down a peg or two" and "needs a good thrashing"; and saying of Service User C "I would have gone through her". Charges of mimicking Service User A, saying she was not autistic, and telling other service users they "need a good beating up" were found not proved.

Findings

The panel found the conduct in charges 1a, 1c, 2a, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c and 4e amounted to misconduct, falling seriously short of the standards expected of a registered nurse; charges 1b and 2b, though proved, did not reach that threshold. It found she put highly vulnerable service users at unwarranted risk of psychological, emotional and physical harm, and as the most senior member of staff on shift set a permissive tone for other staff. While her remorse was genuine and she showed good insight into the impact of her conduct, the panel found her insight incomplete on why she was drawn into the ward's toxic culture and did not challenge it, with no evidence of strengthened practice. Fitness to practise was found impaired on public protection and public interest grounds, and the panel made a striking-off order with an 18-month interim suspension order to cover any appeal period.

Mitigating factors

Early admission of the facts at the earliest possible opportunity, in the internal disciplinary hearing and at the outset of the NMC proceedings; profuse apologies in her written statement and during the hearing for how her words and actions would have affected service users, their families, the Trust and the profession; good insight into some areas regarding the impact of her actions; the existing culture on the ward and lack of support for staff.

Aggravating factors

She was working in a leadership position as Deputy Ward Manager; conduct that put highly vulnerable service users at real risk of physical, psychological and emotional harm; deliberate breaches of the Code; a pattern of misconduct over a period of time involving different vulnerable service users; the vulnerability of the people receiving care in a secure mental health unit.

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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