Allegations of a scam to register overseas nurses to practice in the UK were referred to the Serious Fraud Office yesterday after a nine-month inquiry by the profession's regulator.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council said 83 nurses from India and various African countries were placed on the register without undergoing the required training in British nursing procedures.
It said they were on the books of a nursing agency which gave assurances that it had put them through full-time supervised courses, but had in fact provided them with no more than part-time familiarisation visits.
The NMC said the alleged scam was discovered when a chief nurse at a north-west London NHS trust discovered that overseas nurses were present in the hospital without an official reason for being there.
The council said the 83 nurses were innocent victims of the scam. They did not complete the required period of supervised practice and would be removed from the register within 14 days. Some may be readmitted to the register quickly, but others may require lengthy retraining.
Four nurses employed by the agency were being investigated under the council's fitness to practice procedures. The council submitted a report to the SFO, but chose not to name the agency.
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