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When Ishbel Straker decided to do what she believed was whistleblow on a healthcare provider, she thought she’d be thanked and protected. Instead, she says her career and reputation have been destroyed.
The mental health nurse from Southport, who runs her own consultancy business, had been brought in to support staff at an NHS Trust following a string of suicides.
But she says she was so alarmed about how staff were being safeguarded and the practices of that healthcare provider that she raised the alarm.
“I didn’t realise how hard that was going to be because whistleblowing as an external provider into an organisation is not something that people generally do, and the structures aren’t set up for that.
“They’re set up for that internal whistleblowing, as are the protections for that. But I naively thought justice is going to prevail. I’ve got everything documented.”
The mental health nurse from Liverpool runs her own consultancy business. Credit: ITV News
Within a month, that healthcare provider had issued its own complaint against Ishbel to the nursing regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). They insist that was not in retaliation.
Ishbel was then the subject of two further unrelated complaints from a disgruntled patient and an ex-employee, which resulted in her being suspended.
Almost six years on from that first complaint, Ishbel is still waiting for the NMC to hear her cases. The target is supposed to be 15 months.
Ishbel said it is like living in limbo.
“It’s horrendous, absolutely horrendous, because there feels like there’s no end. That’s the problem. And it feels like it’s completely hopeless.”
These delays to fitness to Practice hearings aren’t unusual. Credit: ITV News
These delays to fitness to Practice hearings aren’t unusual. Figures from the NMC themselves show more than a quarter of people facing a fitness to practice hearing are waiting longer than the recommended 15 months.
Since 2018, it’s thought at least 18 healthcare workers have taken their own lives whilst waiting for their cases to be heard.
None of those deaths has been officially linked to the NMC processes, but one support group said these delays are causing unnecessary harm.
Cathryn Watters from NMC Watch says the Fitness to Practice processes are causing unnecessary harm. Credit: ITV News
Cathryn Watters from NMC Watch said “It’s horrendous. One death is just absolutely tragic. But it’s about trying to understand why that has happened, and yes, there may well be pre-existing issues going on, but for everybody in that process to recognise: what could we have done better to try and reduce this risk as much as possible?
“That’s what I feel is really lacking.”
Ishbel says the reputational damage, financial burden, and emotional toll of these time delays is huge for those involved. She has warned it is only a matter of time before another life is lost.
“I see on a daily basis people talking about the fact that they want to end their lives because of these processes. That is the absolute reality.
“It’s humiliating and you’re exposing yourself.
“It’s so humiliating that nurses don’t tell their partners. But you’re also constantly told and gaslit that it’s you, you’re the problem.”
An independent review of the NMC in 2024 identified a dangerously toxic culture. Credit: ITV News
An independent review of the NMC in 2024 identified a dangerously toxic culture in which bullying, racism, and burnout were putting nurses and the public at risk.
Now, the NMC say they’ve since made substantial improvements, but Ishbel believes that racism could be an issue in her case.
“As a person that is from an ethnic minority—black and ethnic minorities—you are more likely to go through a fitness to practice process.
“You are more likely to be suspended; three times more likely.
“It just put a fire in me of: there’s an injustice happening here and I need to do something about it.”
Ishbel has now started her own campaign group, the Regulatory Justice Foundation.
She’s calling for an amendment to the Hillsborough Law to bring in an Office of the Whistleblower, and a public inquiry into the Fitness to Practice (FtP) process.
Clare Fletcher, Partner at Broudie Jackson Canter legal firm. Credit: ITV News
Clare Fletcher, Partner at Broudie Jackson Canter legal firm said, “The NMC have not been meeting the fitness to practice standard for some considerable years.
“My concern is who does something about that? There’s a lot to answer for, and I think at the moment the only way to get these answers and to really put the NMC under proper scrutiny is via a public inquiry.”
On Monday 20 July, Justice for Nurses, launched a campaign backed by cross-party MPs, calling for a Westminster Hall debate and a select committee inquiry into the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
It came after the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), published its annual review of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s performance for 2024-2025.
The regulator found the NMC met only 9 out of its 18 Standards of Good Regulation, including falling short in some aspects of Fitness to Practice.Ishbel Straker, Founder, Justice for Nurses, said “Over a thousand nurses have signed our petition and 160 have shared their stories in under two weeks.
“These are not statistics. These are nurses who have given their lives to caring for others and who have been broken by a system that claims to protect the public while destroying the professionals who serve it.
The NMC has not met its own fitness to practise standard since 2018/19. Parliament must now ask: who is regulating the regulator?”
On Monday 20 July, Justice for Nurses launched a campaign backed by cross-party MP. Credit: ITV News
An NMC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that concerns have been raised with us about Ms Straker’s fitness to practise. To ensure a fair process, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to say more at this stage, but we have a duty to investigate concerns that are raised with us about professionals on the register.
“We recognise that being involved in our Fitness to Practise processes can be distressing, and we’re striving to make our processes faster, fairer and more compassionate. On average we’re now resolving cases at the fastest rate for more than five years – but recognise that we need to improve much further.”
The NMC noted that since 2018, there have been 18 registrant deaths by suicide in the Fitness to Practise Process.
But the nursing regulator told ITV News that it is important to reflect that the work they do brings them into contact with people who are often experiencing difficulties or are in vulnerable circumstances.
“When we report that somebody has died while our regulatory processes are ongoing, we do not mean to say that they died because of our processes.”Only a coroner can make that determination, and to date, we have not received a formal instruction from a coroner related to a registrant’s death.
“In September 2024, we established a central Safeguarding Hub, which has reviewed more than 7,000 Fitness to Practise (FtP) referrals through a safeguarding lens over the past 18 months.
“The Hub ensures that every referral (new concern raised with the regulator about a registrant) is assessed by a professional with safeguarding expertise.
“This means that potential safeguarding or serious wellbeing risks are identified immediately, and the right support can be put in place where needed to protect people from harm.
“To further strengthen its approach, we have also reviewed and updated our Safeguarding Policy. The policy sets out how the NMC responds when it comes into contact with people who are at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.
“This includes the requirement for all NMC staff to complete safeguarding training, and provides details of an emergency helpline which any member of the staff team can use for immediate safeguarding advice.”
ITV News has chosen not to name the healthcare provider or the NHS Trust involved in this story. Credit: ITV News
ITV News has chosen not to name the healthcare provider or the NHS Trust involved in this story.
Neither wanted to comment publicly ahead of the NMC hearing.
However, the healthcare provider did point out that the suicides linked to the NHS Trust took place before that provider was awarded the contract with the Trust.
The NHS Trust told ITV News that they investigated Ms Straker’s concerns “in line with our standard whistleblowing procedures, and the case was closed with no further action required.”
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