Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing
NMC panel strikes off midwife Stella Roberts over bullying and dishonesty findings
The Nursing and Midwifery Council has struck off former Head of Midwifery Stella Roberts after a panel found she bullied colleagues at St George's over a sustained period and dishonestly concealed her suspension and disciplinary investigation from a new NHS employer.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 30 April 2026 · Updated 11 July 2026
Erasure (struck off the register)
Added to MedicWatch: 11 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 Stella Roberts, midwife (Nursing and Midwifery Council 05I0360E).
Decision date: 30 April 2026 · Hearing started 20 October 2025 and ended 30 April 2026
In plain English
The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that midwife Stella Roberts, a former Head of Midwifery at St George's University NHS Foundation Trust, bullied and belittled colleagues over a sustained period and acted dishonestly by not telling West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust she had been suspended and placed under disciplinary investigation. The panel found her fitness to practise impaired and made a striking-off order, with an 18-month interim suspension pending any appeal.
Charges
While Head of Midwifery at St George's University NHS Foundation Trust, the registrant was alleged to have shouted at and belittled colleagues, read a colleague's personal diary without good reason, locked and blocked the door of a meeting room, and caused colleagues distress, with the conduct alleged to be bullying and/or belittling, embarrassing, dismissive and undermining of teamwork (charges 1-8). She was further alleged to have failed to inform West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, when applying for and after signing a contract of employment, that she had been placed under disciplinary investigation and suspended by St George's, and that this was dishonest and/or lacked candour (charges 9-12). Facts were proved on all charges except 3a and 3b.
Findings
The panel found a sustained pattern of bullying, belittling, embarrassing, dismissive and undermining behaviour towards multiple colleagues, and deliberate, sustained dishonesty in failing to disclose her suspension and disciplinary investigation to a new NHS employer. It found the conduct amounted to misconduct, that fitness to practise was impaired on public protection and public interest grounds, and that the conduct was fundamentally incompatible with continued registration. It imposed a striking-off order, with an 18-month interim suspension order to cover the appeal period.
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Mitigating factors
The panel did not identify any mitigating features in this case.
Aggravating factors
Abuse of a position of seniority and trust; a persistent and sustained pattern of bullying, belittling, embarrassing, dismissive and undermining behaviour affecting multiple colleagues across multiple incidents; failure to work collaboratively; demonstrable and serious emotional harm to colleagues; serious potential to put people receiving care at risk of harm; calculated dishonesty sustained over several months for personal and professional gain; failure to attend the hearing or engage with the process without good reason; and no remorse, reflection or insight demonstrated.
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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