A dietician who exaggerated her experience to secure a senior NHS role has been struck off after colleagues discovered she lacked basic medical knowledge—including where the intestines are located and how to calculate BMI—raising serious concerns about patient safety.
Ifenyinwa Chizube Ndulue-Nonso was hired as a dietician at
Manchester Royal Infirmary in 2024 after relocating from Nigeria. On her
application, she claimed extensive experience treating nutrition-related
diseases, eating disorders, and cancer patients. In reality, within days of
starting the role, she could barely answer basic questions about dietetics.
Gaps in Knowledge
Emerged Immediately
Colleagues quickly flagged multiple red flags. According to
a Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) hearing, Mrs.
Ndulue-Nonso:
Struggled to calculate BMI
Confused the small and large intestine
Could not identify a feeding tube
Was unable to explain what coeliac disease is
Believed radiology was used to treat heart failure
Just three days into the job, a senior colleague began
logging concerns after asking her which part of the intestine comes after the
stomach—a question she could not answer.
Investigation and
Suspension
The Trust launched an investigation shortly after she began
her Band 6 Rotational Dietitian role in February 2024. Within weeks, she was
suspended over fears she was unsafe to practice. A disciplinary hearing found
her guilty of gross misconduct. She was dismissed, and her subsequent appeal
failed.
The HCPTS panel concluded that Mrs. Ndulue-Nonso had
deliberately lied on her application and during her interview, and was not
qualified for the role. While she admitted to overstating her knowledge “a
bit,” attributing it to cultural differences, the panel found her dishonesty to
be “premeditated and deliberate.”
Patient Safety Risks
The panel noted that no patients were harmed only because
supervisors took precautionary measures and prevented her from having direct
patient contact. It also highlighted that she had “much to gain personally from
securing employment in the UK, including the right to reside here with her
family.”
Her line manager, Curtis Roberts, discovered discrepancies
between her application and her actual experience just two weeks after she
started. References provided for her previous roles had been deemed satisfactory
at the time of hiring.
Mrs. Ndulue-Nonso was the only candidate interviewed for the
position and had scored 28 out of 45 points during the selection process—an
assessment the panel later determined was based on false information.
Outcome
The tribunal ruled that her actions amounted to misconduct
that brought the profession into disrepute and posed a potential risk to
patients. She has now been struck off the register, effectively barring her
from practicing as a dietician in the UK.