A FIFE nurse has been struck off after providing inaccurate information on four job applications.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) fitness to practise committee made the decision that Christine Brown's conduct was a "significant departure" from the standards expected of a registered nurse.

Brown was employed with NHS Fife when the charges came to the attention of the NMC in January 2019.

Papers for the hearing stated that Brown had applied for four jobs and was successful in securing a role as a neonatal staff nurse with NHS Fife.

However, in August 2018, an NHS Fife HR officer reported "discrepancies" within the job application forms and an investigation took place which, following a disciplinary hearing in January 2019, resulted in Brown being dismissed for gross misconduct.

The NMC hearing report stated: "It is alleged that Mrs Brown inaccurately completed the application forms she submitted between January 17, 2018, to July 25, 2018, which was dishonest, to mislead the reader of the applications.

"It is also alleged that Mrs Brown failed to disclose on the application forms that she was not on the NMC register between October 1, 2016, and November 1, 2017, and that this was dishonest as she sought to mislead the reader of her application forms regarding her NMC registration status."

The disciplinary panel said Brown repeated her misconduct on four occasions by inaccurately recording her employment dates, banding, experience and the loss of her NMC registration on her job applications.

"It noted that NHS Fife had advised Mrs Brown to include the loss of her NMC registration on future applications, however, she continued to submit another job application without this information."

Brown did not appear for the online hearing and the panel said although it had no information regarding her insight, it took into consideration its earlier finding that the “risk of repetition is very likely”.

It was deemed that Brown's fitness to practice was impaired by her conduct.

The decision report added: "The panel considered, in the circumstances of this case, that the dishonesty was not at the lower end of the spectrum of seriousness.

"The conduct, as highlighted by the facts found proved, was a significant departure from the standards expected of a registered nurse. The panel noted that the serious breach of the fundamental tenets of the profession evidenced by Mrs Brown’s actions is fundamentally incompatible with Mrs Brown remaining on the register.

"In this particular case, the panel determined that a suspension order would not be a sufficient, appropriate or proportionate sanction.

"The panel considered that this order (striking off order) was necessary to mark the importance of maintaining public confidence in the profession, and to send to the public and the profession a clear message about the standard of behaviour required of a registered nurse."