More Keralite NHS Nurses in the UK Warned by NMC Over Agency Work

LONDON Dec 29: An increasing number of Keralite migrant nurses working in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) have been placed under interim conditions of practice orders by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). These orders, typically lasting between 15 and 18 months, follow NMC findings of serious concerns regarding professional practice.

According to information reviewed by this website, the interim conditions are imposed alongside detailed action plans after the NMC identifies serious incompetence. In several cases, the primary reason cited is that the nurses undertook agency or bank work while being substantively employed by the NHS.

In documents examined by this website, the first condition commonly states: “You must be employed by a single substantive employer. You must not engage in any agency or bank work.”

In one case, a Keralite nurse who began working in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, in 2023 has been placed under an action plan requiring constant supervision. The NMC hearing notes specify that she “must be directly supervised in all aspects of your nursing practice until you have successfully completed your action plan and have been deemed competent to practise independently by a registered nurse of Band 6 or above.”

The NMC continues to monitor the case and will notify the nurse when it progresses to the next stage of the fitness to practise process.

In another case, dated December 2025, a Keralite nurse who started working in Wiltshire in 2024 has been placed under interim conditions of practice for 18 months. She is also required to work under supervision, with the same restriction prohibiting agency or bank work. The panel stated that the 18-month period was necessary to allow sufficient time for the NMC to complete its investigation, which remains at an early stage.

A further case from Cumberland involves a Keralite nurse who began employment in October 2023. He has been placed under interim conditions for 15 months and instructed to restrict his nursing practice to a single substantive employer, with a clear prohibition on agency or bank shifts.

Saju, a nurse from Cirencester, has also been placed under interim conditions of practice for 18 months. He must limit his nursing practice to one employer. If employed through an agency, the placement must last a minimum of six months. The NMC Case Examiners have not yet decided whether there is a case to answer regarding the allegations against him, and the NMC will inform him when the case moves to the next stage.

Similarly, Chiramal from Liverpool has been placed under interim conditions of practice for 18 months. He has been warned that he must work only for a single substantive employer, which must not be an agency or a nurse bank. The Fitness to Practise Committee has yet to consider the allegations against him, and the NMC has stated it will keep him informed of any developments.

This report is published as a warning to newly arrived nurses in the UK, highlighting the serious consequences of breaching employment contracts by working for additional employers while holding substantive NHS roles.