A midwife who told an exhausted woman in labour “If you don’t push, I’m going to have to cut you” has been struck off after nursing regulators ruled her behaviour put patients at risk of harm.
Adenike Simiat Balogun-Sadiq was removed from the professional register by a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel at a hearing on October 28, ending a case that began with incidents at the Princess Royal University Hospital in Bromley in July 2019.
The panel found a series of serious failings proved against Mrs Balogun-Sadiq in her care of a woman — referred to in proceedings only as Mother A — during labour on July 17 and 18, 2019.
When Mother A told the midwife she felt she could not push any more, the response recorded by the panel was: “If you don’t push, I’m going to have to cut you.” When the woman cried out in pain, Mrs Balogun-Sadiq asked her: “What’s wrong with you? Are you emotional?”
The panel concluded that the midwife had failed to treat her patient “with kindness, respect and compassion”, and that she had failed to make sure Mother A had adequate pain relief in place before and during suturing after the birth.
The case did not go straight to a strike-off. Mrs Balogun-Sadiq was first suspended from practice for six months by an NMC fitness-to-practise panel in April last year, after the misconduct was found proved. That suspension was reviewed in September and extended for a further six months, and reviewed again in March — with the review panel saying the time would give the midwife “the opportunity to provide reflections on her misconduct and would allow her to undertake further relevant training.”
At that stage the panel also described the misconduct as “an isolated incident in what had hitherto been 22 years of a previously unblemished career.”
But when the case returned before the panel on October 28, Mrs Balogun-Sadiq had not engaged with the regulator since the first order was made. She had been sent notice of the hearing but did not attend, and had not provided the reflective account she was asked to submit showing insight into her failings and how they would change her future practice.
“In light of Mrs Balogun-Sadiq’s failure to demonstrate improved insight or remediation of the failings found in her practice, the panel determined that there remains a real risk of repetition of the misconduct found proved,” the decision states.
The panel said her “lack of engagement with the NMC and her failure to address the identified concerns constituted a significant departure from the standards expected of a registered nurse”, adding: “The misconduct identified in this case has and would continue to put patients at risk of harm and is therefore fundamentally incompatible with her remaining on the register.”
The striking-off order comes into effect on November 6 this year, when her name will be removed from the NMC register.
Separately, Mrs Balogun-Sadiq admitted giving false information to the regulator. In paperwork filed in November 2022 she declared she had retired on August 31, 2022, when she was still working midwifery shifts at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, the NMC said.
Being struck off is the most serious sanction the NMC can impose. It means the individual’s name is removed from the register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates, and they can no longer practise as a midwife or nurse in the UK.
The NMC’s fitness-to-practise process begins when a concern is raised — by a patient, a colleague, an employer or the police — and moves through screening and investigation before reaching a hearing panel where the evidence is tested. Panels can impose a range of outcomes, from taking no action or issuing a caution, through conditions of practice or suspension, up to removal from the register. Strike-off is reserved for the most serious cases, where the panel concludes the conduct is fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the register. Registrants have the right to attend hearings, be represented and to appeal against decisions.
The case comes amid continuing scrutiny of maternity care in the capital. Homerton Hospital’s home birth service was suspended last month while bosses carry out a safety review, while Martha’s Rule — which gives patients and families the right to request an urgent second opinion — is being expanded to every A&E department in England following the death of a south London teenager. London nurses have also reported patients dying in “suffocating” hospital wards during heatwaves.
Anyone with concerns about care received during pregnancy, labour or after birth can contact the hospital trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), raise a formal complaint through the NHS complaints process, or contact the Care Quality Commission, which inspects maternity services. The charity Birthrights also provides information and advice about rights in pregnancy and childbirth.
