Shirley McLean
Introduction
Shirley McLean is a registered nurse formerly on the register of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), PIN 13I1862S. On 24 February 2026 an NMC Fitness to Practise Committee, reviewing her existing 12-month suspension order, found her fitness to practise remained impaired and replaced the suspension with a striking-off order . The charges found proved at the original hearing included taking medication from hospital supplies for her own use, consuming medication not prescribed to her while on duty, drinking directly from a medicine bottle intended for patients, missed medications and observations during the Covid-19 pandemic, and failing to attend scheduled work .
Background Information
McLean was registered with the NMC as a nurse under PIN 13I1862S . Her practitioner profile records the outcome “erased from the register at last register check”, lists the 24 February 2026 erasure as her most recent decision, and notes the entry was last verified against the official NMC register on 24 July 2026 . The charges place her in hospital work — the proved charge of taking medication from hospital supplies dates to 16 June 2020, and the on-duty and infection-control charges to September 2021 — during the Covid-19 pandemic; the published record names no employer and gives no other biographical detail .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Adjudicated vs. alleged. The findings in this section come from a Nursing and Midwifery Council fitness-to-practise panel determination, which decided the charges on the balance of probabilities. Charges found proved are regulatory findings, not criminal convictions; nothing here is a criminal record unless the determination itself states one, and this determination states none. The review page quotes the previous charges found proved; charges 1 and 2 are redacted as [PRIVATE] in the published record and are not described here.
The original panel’s proved charges, as quoted in the review determination, describe a pattern of medication misuse across 2020 and 2021. On 16 June 2020 McLean took medication from the hospital supplies for her own use, and the panel found proved the associated dishonesty charge: that she knew she was not entitled to take such medication but did so anyway . On 21 September 2021, whilst on duty, she consumed medication which was not prescribed for her, and on the same date she did not follow infection control procedures in that she drank directly from a medicine bottle intended for patients .
The proved charges also covered patient care during the pandemic. On 13 September 2021 she failed to follow infection control guidelines in that she did not wash her hands and/or protective gloves when attending to patients with Covid-19 and failed to wipe and/or clean machinery between seeing patients with Covid-19 . On 16 September 2021 she did not give patients their medications as and when required, did not complete patient observations, and did not complete patient notes . The panel also found proved that she failed to attend work when scheduled on 17 July 2021, 24 July 2024 and 26 July 2024 .
The original panel imposed a 12-month suspension order. At the review on 24 February 2026 the Fitness to Practise Committee found her fitness to practise remained impaired and imposed a striking-off order in place of the suspension . The original impairment reasoning quoted in the review turned on the NMC’s standard question — “Can the nurse, midwife or nursing associate practise kindly, safely and professionally?” — and on the position of trust nurses occupy with patients and their families .
Public Reaction and Consequences
The published record contains no press coverage, public statements or online campaigns connected with the case; the determination page and practitioner profile confine themselves to the regulator’s findings . The concrete consequence is the loss of registration. The striking-off order removes McLean from the register in place of the suspension that had failed to produce remediation . The case sits in MedicWatch’s browsable record of nurse erasures, added to the service on 5 May 2026 .
Current Status
McLean is struck off the NMC register. Her practitioner profile records the outcome “erased from the register at last register check”, with the erasure decision dated 24 February 2026 and the record last verified against the official register on 24 July 2026 . The determination page notes that the regulator directed removal from the register, that the decision explains when the direction takes effect and any appeal provisions, and points readers to the official NMC register for current registration status . No appeal, later decision or restoration application appears in the published record .
Impact on Their Career/Life
The striking-off order ends McLean’s ability to practise as a nurse in the United Kingdom. The proved findings combine dishonesty — taking hospital medication for her own use — with on-duty consumption, an infection-control breach that put Covid-19 patients at risk, and missed care during a pandemic ward round . Erasure on findings of that combination is treated by the NMC as requiring a high bar at restoration: she would need to show the deficiencies behind both the misconduct and the dishonesty findings have been remedied before any return to the register . The published record gives no information about her employment or personal circumstances after the order, and her profile records no later regulatory decisions .