Penny Ann Senner

Introduction

Penny Ann Senner is a registered nurse (adult nursing) who had been on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register since 23 September 2014, holding PIN 14D1080E, with her relevant location recorded as Dorset. She joined Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust in October 2014 and worked as a district nurse. On 15 June 2026, at the end of a virtual substantive hearing held from 8 to 15 June 2026, a panel of the NMC’s Fitness to Practise Committee found her fitness to practise impaired by reason of misconduct and imposed a striking-off order. The case combined two strands: accessing numerous patients’ records without authorisation or a legitimate clinical reason over more than sixteen months, and sharing anti-vaccination material with patients, including telling a patient undergoing chemotherapy that her Covid-19 vaccinations had caused her cancer. The panel found charges 1, 2, 3a and 4 proved; it accepted there was no case to answer on charge 3b and found charge 3c not proved.

Background Information

The regulator record identifies Senner as an adult-nursing registrant employed by Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust from October 2014, working in community nursing in the Poole area. The Trust received a complaint on 23 August 2023 from a friend of a patient — later ‘Patient A’ — about a home visit on 15 August 2023 during which Senner was said to have made claims about Covid-19 vaccines and given the patient written material. A second concern arose in May 2024, when reports reached the Trust that breast cancer patients had been told by a member of the district nursing team that Covid-19 vaccination had caused their cancer. Senner was suspended from duty, and the Trust investigation that followed formed a central part of the NMC’s case. Her MedicWatch profile records erasure as her most recent outcome.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated by regulator, not a criminal case. The findings below come from an NMC Fitness to Practise Committee determination, decided on the balance of probabilities. They are regulatory findings, not criminal convictions. One charge was found not proved and the panel accepted there was no case to answer on another; the dishonesty limb of the impairment test was expressly not engaged.

As amended, the charges alleged that between 17 January 2023 and 31 May 2024 Senner accessed numerous patients’ records without authorisation and/or a legitimate clinical reason (charge 1); that on 15 August 2023 she said to Patient A, in relation to the fact that they had received Covid-19 vaccinations and boosters, “that’s what caused your cancer” (charge 2); that she distributed unapproved material to patients, including offering Patient A a leaflet with a link to an anti-vaccination website (charge 3a); and that her actions at charges 2 and/or 3 were attempts to undermine public confidence in public health advice (charge 4).

On charge 1, Senner admitted compiling a list of patients since shortly after the vaccine rollout — a chart on her personal J: drive dated 17 January 2023 — without permission, entering ‘research’ as her reason for access. Trust systems showed accesses outside her caseload, including deceased patients, and eight had triggered Privacy Officer Alerts; the Trust had already warned her in July 2022 about accessing records without sufficient reason. She handed over 22 printed patient summaries when she left. The panel found charge 1 proved.

On charge 2, Patient A testified that during the 15 August 2023 visit Senner said “that’s what caused your cancer” and stated this had been “hushed up”. Her account was consistent across her complaint, two telephone conversations and her witness statement; Senner accepted the visit but disputed the words, and the panel found Patient A credible. On charge 3a, the panel found Senner offered Patient A a World Council for Health leaflet linking to a website it concluded was anti-vaccination; she admitted giving the unapproved leaflet to two patients in breach of Trust policy. Charge 3b fell to a no-case-to-answer application and charge 3c was not proved. On charge 4, the panel found the actions were attempts to undermine public confidence in public health advice, while acknowledging no evidence she acted with others or online.

The panel found the proved charges amounted to misconduct breaching multiple NMC Code standards, including confidentiality — including after death — evidence-based information, record-keeping, and not expressing personal beliefs to patients inappropriately. Senner attended until midday on 9 June, represented by Niall McCrae of the Workers of England Union, then voluntarily absented herself. It found impairment on public protection and public interest grounds, citing limited insight, no evidence of remediation and a high risk of repetition, and expressly concluded the dishonesty limb of the impairment test was not engaged.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The published record contains no press coverage; the documented reaction sits in the complaint and internal NHS correspondence cited at the hearing. Patient A described lasting distress at a vulnerable point in her illness, saying she feared she could have prevented her own disease. An NHS Dorset email of 24 May 2024 recorded that affected women were upset, confused, angry and worried about vaccinated friends and family. Weighing aggravating features — abuse of trust, a pattern over time, limited insight and Patient A’s vulnerability — against positive character references and testimony from her line manager, the panel concluded her actions were fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the register.

Current Status

Senner has been struck off the NMC register by order dated 15 June 2026. Because a striking-off order cannot take effect until the 28-day appeal period ends, the panel imposed an 18-month interim suspension order; if no appeal is made, the striking-off order replaces it 28 days after the written decision is sent. Her MedicWatch profile, last verified 23 July 2026, records her as erased from the register at last check. The published record shows no appeal.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The order ends Senner’s nursing registration and her career with the Trust, barring her from practising as a registered nurse in the UK unless a future appeal or restoration application succeeded. The panel’s reasoning makes a return unlikely: limited insight — she apologised that Patient A was upset but suggested the patient had been “encouraged” by another nurse to complain — no evidence of training or remediation, and a high risk of repetition posing a real risk of serious harm to the public. The determination is her most recent published regulatory outcome.

Sources

• *Nursing and Midwifery Council, “Fitness to Practise Committee — Substantive Hearing: Penny Ann Senner (PIN 14D1080E), decision and reasons”, 15 June 2026 — source
• *MedicWatch, “Erasure — Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing”, added 8 July 2026 — source
• *MedicWatch, “Penny Ann Senner — Nurse · Nursing and Midwifery Council 14D1080E” — source