Phyllis Mwangu said she never put patients or service users at risk
A London nurse who lied about having a UK driving licence to get a job has been suspended for nine months. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said Phyllis Mwangu committed serious misconduct when she drove colleagues without a full and valid driving licence in the UK or valid insurance.
They also said she repeatedly lied to her employer, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, about her licence and was unfit to practise.
Mwangu admitted all charges and has since apologised. She said she did not put patients or service users at risk and claimed she only once drove with a colleague, though the NMC report says it happened more than once.
The mental health nurse answered ‘yes’ to having a full and valid licence and access to a car in her job application for an “essential car user position”. She repeated the claims during a job interview in April 2022 and on more than one occasion drove colleagues around, according to the allegations made to the NMC.
In April 2023, she falsely told her manager she was disqualified from driving and had to re-sit a test because she failed to pay a speeding fine and would not be able to carry out her duties.
According to the NMC, Mwangu was unable to provide evidence of the driving ban and later admitted to her manager, after being asked to reconsider what she said, that she never held a full UK driving licence because she repeatedly failed the driving test. She resigned before disciplinary proceedings took place.
The watchdog found Mwangu drove without a licence for “a significant amount of time”, and was stopped by police while driving in Hounslow in relation to the potential offence of driving without a licence or valid insurance. She was convicted on October 27, 2023.
Mwangu asked the panel at a hearing in October to give her a second chance saying her actions were a “massive mistake” and that she had been too embarrassed and frightened to tell her manager. She said she was not a risk to the public and had an unblemished record prior to this incident.
She said she had a mortgage and bills to pay and it would affect her family if she was unable to work. She also said she would respect the ruling.
The panel said Mwangu’s dishonesty made her a risk to the public and that she had gained employment “by dishonest means”. They also said her actions brought the profession into disrepute and though she had shown genuine remorse, she “struggled to understand the serious nature of the allegation”.
They wrote: “The panel is of the view that there may be a risk of repetition based on your limited insight in relation to your dishonesty. The panel therefore decided that a finding of impairment is necessary on the grounds of public protection.”
The panel stopped short of striking Mwangu off the register saying she was a good clinician and had no complaints made against her before this incident, instead imposing a nine-month suspension.
Mwangu has 28 days to appeal the decision. At the end of the suspension period, another panel will review the order and decide whether to continue or revoke it.
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