Information for people affected by the Yunnik test centre issue

Because of the evidence of widespread fraud at the Yunnik test centre, we invalidated all CBT results from Yunnik as they couldn’t be relied upon. To progress with your application to join our register, we require you to take and pass a new CBT.

Once you’ve taken a new CBT and submitted a complete application, your application is assessed by an Assistant Registrar. To join the register, the Assistant Registrar needs to be satisfied that you meet the character requirements to be considered capable of safe and effective practice.

When deciding on whether you meet our character requirements, the Assistant Registrar will consider the concern that we have about the use of a proxy to obtain your CBT result at Yunnik, or that your Yunnik CBT result was not obtained in an entirely honest way.

Your application (or appeal if you’re appealing the Assistant Registrar’s refusal decision) and accompanying documents should cover:

• the overarching character requirements and your ability to practice safely and effectively
• your ability to speak up about wrongdoing, which is also an important aspect of being a registered professional.

When we wrote to you about the Assistant Registrar’s decision to refuse your application, we set out what your options are:

You can appeal the Assistant Registrar’s decision

You have the right to appeal the Assistant Registrar’s decision. If you wish to do so, you must submit your appeal in writing, to arrive within 28 days of the date of the letter notifying you of the Assistant Registrar’s decision.

A guide to making an appeal can be found here.

To help you make a valid appeal, we’ve provided a form (appeal proforma) for you to use. You don’t need to use this form, but you may find it helpful. A link to the form can be found here.

Your appeal would be considered by an independent panel at a hearing or a meeting. This panel is called the Registration Appeal Panel and is independent from the NMC. If your appeal is unsuccessful, you’ll have the right to a further appeal to the County Court or, in Scotland, to a Sheriff.

Or

You can make a new application

You can make a new application at any time. However, the Assistant Registrar will make an assessment on any new application you submit. This is because the Assistant Registrar needs to decide if they’re confident you meet the character requirements to practise safely and effectively.

Please look carefully at the reasons for the Assistant Registrar’s decision on your refused application and think about how to address these points in any further applications you make. If you provide the same information from your original application, you’ll get the same outcome.
If you can provide other information or documents for consideration, the Assistant Registrar will review them alongside everything they’ve already looked at as part of your recent application.

A registered nurse or midwife must have the skills and values to be able to speak up about wrong-doing, and must continually self-reflect to ensure professional and personal development. These skills and values are important for patient safety.

We encourage all applicants who undertook their CBT at Yunnik to share their experience with a trusted person and to reflect on that experience. A trusted person might be your employer, the Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association UK (NNCAUK), your legal representative, union representative, or someone else you trust.

You can also share your experience and any reflections with us. We encourage you to seek advice and support to help you do this. But you can contact us directly if you prefer. You can send a written account to us at RITeamB@nmc-uk.org. Please provide as detailed an account as possible, as well as a full reflection of anything that went wrong and how you would ensure that would not happen again.

If you’ve shared your experience with a trusted person, for example your line manager, you could consider asking them to provide us with a written account regarding your reflections with them. You can also provide references or testimonials from registered colleagues who can comment on your character.

If you do decide to provide us with your account and reflections, they’ll be taken into account by the Assistant Registrar when they consider your application to join the register. They’ll also be taken into account if you’ve appealed the Assistant Registrar’s decision or if you decide to make a new application to join the register.

Providing your account of what happened and your reflections doesn’t automatically mean that your application will be accepted. Each case is considered on its own merits. The Assistant Registrar will consider:

• your reflections
• your insight into what went wrong
• whether you are equipped to speak up if a similar situation were to happen again
• the stage at which you provided your account and reflections
• what you said in any previous accounts
• any further information or statements you provide.

These guides focus on fitness to practise cases but provide helpful guidance on these important aspects:

• Has the concern been addressed?
• Is it highly unlikely that the conduct will be repeated?

Yes. The Assistant Registrar (and the Registration Appeal Panel if you appeal the Assistant Registrar’s decision) will look at any evidence that you provide regarding context, or any mitigating factors, relating to your experience of taking your CBT at Yunnik.

By context, we mean the circumstances at the time, including any pressures or other factors influencing your decision when taking your CBT at Yunnik.

The Assistant Registrar (and the Registration Appeal Panel if you appeal the Assistant Registrar’s decision) will also look at whether you have sufficient insight into what went wrong and the likelihood that the conduct will be repeated. Guidance on demonstrating insight can be found here and guidance on risk of repetition can be found here.

No, but it’s your choice!

If you’re applying

All individuals who join the NMC register are required to act in line with the Code. The Code contains the professional standards that registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates must uphold. When joining our register and when renewing registration, nurses, midwives, and nursing associates commit to upholding these standards. This commitment to professional standards is fundamental to being part of a profession.

Code 20 deals specifically with honesty and integrity and, alongside our character requirements, is what the Assistant Registrar will need to consider when deciding on whether to admit you to the register. To admit you to the register, the Assistant Registrar must be satisfied that you meet the character requirements to practise safely and effectively.

The Assistant Registrar will be able to make the decision after reading the evidence from the NMC and anything that you put forward to be considered. This is your opportunity to put forward your account of how you obtained your Yunnik CBT, including supporting evidence.

If you’re appealing

If you appeal the Assistant Registrar’s decision, the burden is on the NMC to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that you obtained your Yunnik CBT fraudulently. We’ll do this by providing evidence to a Registration Appeal Panel.
You simply denying fraud may not be enough to convince a Registration Appeal Panel that you did not obtain your CBT fraudulently. We would encourage you to consider your general duty of candour and the principles of that duty.

The NMC can’t provide legal advice to applicants and encourages you to seek legal advice from an appropriate advisor.

Within the evidence bundle provided are statements from Pearson VUE and a report by an independent data analytics expert. Those documents refer to different test times.

The time you spent in the Yunnik test centre or at the computer is not the same as the test time the NMC are relying on. The test time that the NMC are relying on is the one that the independent data analytics expert has calculated. This is considered to be a fairer way to look at how long you took on your test.

The expert’s calculation ignores the time spent going through the parts of the CBT that weren’t the actual questions, such as the introduction, exit, tutorial, non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and survey screens. The calculation does include the time spent reading and answering the questions, and the time spent reviewing the questions.

The resulting test times have not been rounded up. The time is given as the exact number of minutes to two decimal points, not the number of minutes and seconds. For example, 3.89 minutes isn't 3 minutes 89 seconds (or 4 minutes and 29 seconds) but 3 minutes and .89 of a minute.

The Pearson VUE time does not include the review time and has been rounded up. It does not include any time spent on the introduction, exit, tutorial, non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and survey screens.

The Assistant Registrar will know that you have passed a new CBT because your application to join the NMC register can’t be considered until you have passed a new CBT.

The same applies if your application has been refused and you appeal. The Registration Appeals panel will know that you have passed a new CBT.

It is therefore not necessary to tell the Assistant Registrar, or the Registration Appeal Panel that you have passed your new CBT.

You can ask the Assistant Registrar or the Registration Appeal Panel to consider your new test time as an argument that you obtained your original result at Yunnik genuinely.

If you ask the Assistant Registrar to consider your new test time, they will be provided with your test time along with your comments about the resit.

If you choose to rely on your new test time during your Registration Appeal Panel hearing, our case presenter will be entitled to ask questions about your resit test time and/or make submissions about it. This may be in order to challenge the argument you have that the resit test time supports your case that you did not use fraud.

The Registration Appeal Panel are independent from the NMC and we can’t tell them not to ask questions about something they may feel is relevant. It is possible that they may ask you about the resits even if you do not refer to it.

If you would like to know what your resit test time was, please email RITeamB@nmc-uk.org.

Pearson Vue have confirmed that the Yunnik test centre was not one of their test centres that had CCTV in place.

There is therefore no CCTV footage available.

If you have decided to use a different representative, please email RITeamB@nmc-uk.org to confirm who your new representative is, including their contact details. Please also confirm that you no longer wish the NMC to make contact with your previous representative.

Alternatively, your new representative can contact us at RITeamB@nmc-uk.org to let us know. Your new representative should provide a form of authority signed by you to confirm that they now represent you.

You will need to communicate with your previous representative regarding their fees and to tell them that you are changing representative.

Information on the support available to you can be found here.

The Fitness to Practise Careline

You can contact the careline on 0800 056 2023.

The careline was originally set up for people going through a fitness to practise investigation. However, we’ve now made this service available for applicants affected by the issues at Yunnik as well. We recognise this is a very difficult time for you and encourage you to use the careline if you would like confidential and non-judgemental emotional support.

The careline is an independent service and they won’t share any information with us unless you want them to. It’s available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Whether you think you’d benefit from confidential emotional support, or would prefer practical help and advice, the support team would be happy to talk to you.

More information about this service can be found here.

Employer support

Your employer may also be able to provide support. Speak with your line manager or with your employer’s human resources department. Some employers provide employee assistance which may include a helpline and counselling services.

Support and advice may also be available from:

• the Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association UK
• your trade union, if you are a member: UNISON, Unite the Union, or Royal College of Nursing 
• your GP
• the Samaritans – a charity which provides emotional support to anyone in emotional distress
• any community or faith-based groups you are a member of.

If you have any questions about the application process, you can contact us at RITeamB@nmc-uk.org.

Information on the support available to you can be found here.

The Fitness to Practise Careline

You can contact the careline on 0800 056 2023.

The careline was originally set up for people going through a fitness to practise investigation. However, we’ve now made this service available for applicants affected by the issues at Yunnik as well. We recognise this is a very difficult time for you and encourage you to use the careline if you would like confidential and non-judgemental emotional support.

The careline is an independent service and they won’t share any information with us unless you want them to. It’s available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Whether you think you’d benefit from confidential emotional support, or would prefer practical help and advice, the support team would be happy to talk to you.

More information about this service can be found here.

Employer support

Your employer may also be able to provide support. Speak with your line manager or with your employer’s human resources department. Some employers provide employee assistance which may include a helpline and counselling services.

Support and advice may also be available from:

• the Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association UK
• your trade union, if you are a member: UNISON, Unite the Union or, Royal College of Nursing
• your GP
• the Samaritans – a charity which provides emotional support to anyone in emotional distress
• any community or faith-based groups you are a member of.

If you have any questions about the application process, you can contact us at RITeamB@nmc-uk.org.

You were given six months to take and pass a new CBT.

We recently contacted everyone who hadn’t taken a new test to advise them that we would close their account if they didn’t get in touch. We are now in the process of closing inactive applications down.

If you want to make a new application to join the register in the future, you will need to sit a new CBT – you can’t rely on your Yunnik CBT.

Because of the evidence of widespread fraud at the Yunnik test centre, we invalidated all CBT results from Yunnik as they couldn’t be relied upon.

We need to be sure that registered nurses and midwives have passed the relevant test of competency, specifically the CBT. A CBT obtained from another test centre satisfies that requirement.

However, there remains a concern regarding the probability that your entry on the register was fraudulently obtained. That is the concern that the Investigating Committee Panel need to consider.

The Investigating Committee Panel need to look at the probable use of a proxy to obtain the CBT at Yunnik as well as any failure to notify the NMC that the Yunnik CBT was not obtained in an entirely honest way. Being able to speak up about wrongdoing is an important aspect of being a registered professional. The documents you send us for the Investigating Committee Panel to consider should cover these points. They should also cover the overarching character requirements and your ability to practice safely and effectively.

When we wrote to you about the Investigating Committee’s decision, we set out what your options are:

You can appeal the Investigating Committee’s decision

You have the right to appeal the Investigating Committee’s decision.
If you wish to do so, you must submit your appeal to the County Court or, in Scotland, to a Sheriff. Our letter will have set out the deadline for doing so, which is 28 days from that letter.

Guidance on the appeal process can be found here.

Or

You can make a new application to join the register

You can make a new application at any time. When considering your new application, the Assistant Registrar will need to decide if they are confident you meet the character requirements to practise safely and effectively.

Please look carefully at the reasons for the Investigating Committee’s decision and think about how to address these in any further applications you make.

You can provide other information or documents for consideration. The Assistant Registrar will review them alongside the Investigating Committee’s decision and any evidence given by you at that hearing.

The role of a registered nurse or midwife requires an individual to have the skills and values to be able to speak up about wrong doing, as well as continually self-reflect to ensure professional and personal development. These skills and values are important for patient safety.

We encourage registrants (and former registrants who have been removed from the register) who undertook their CBT at Yunnik to share their experience with a trusted person. A trusted person might be your employer, The Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association UK (NNCAUK), your legal representative, union representative, or someone else you trust, and to reflect on that experience. You are also encouraged to seek advice and support to share your account and any reflections with the NMC.

You can provide your account and reflections at the Investigating Committee Panel hearing. That hearing looks at whether your entry on the register was incorrectly or fraudulently obtained.

If you are removed from the register and then make a new application to join the register, your account and reflections will be taken into account by the Assistant Registrar when considering your reapplication.

Providing your account of what happened and your reflections doesn’t automatically mean that you will be accepted onto the register or be allowed to stay on the register. Each case is considered on its own merits.

If you reapply to join the register, the Assistant Registrar will consider:

• your reflections
• your insight into what went wrong
• whether you are equipped to speak up if a similar situation were to happen again
• the stage at which you provided your account and reflections
• what you said in any previous accounts
• any further information or statements you provide.

These guides are focused on fitness to practise cases but provide helpful guidance on these important aspects:

• Has the concern been addressed?
• Is it highly unlikely that the conduct will be repeated?

If you want to provide your written account of what happened when you sat your CBT at Yunnik, you can send it to us at RITeamA@nmc-uk.org. We’d encourage you to provide as detailed an account as possible, as well as a full reflection of your Yunnik experience.

If you’ve shared your experience with a trusted person, for example your line manager, you could consider asking them to provide us with a written account regarding your reflection. You can also provide references or testimonials from registered colleagues who can comment on your character.

The Investigating Committee Panel’s role is to decide whether your entry onto the register was incorrectly or fraudulently obtained. Any evidence you put forward regarding context and mitigating factors can be taken into account by the panel when deciding if your entry on the register was obtained incorrectly or fraudulently. This includes evidence regarding context or mitigating factors relating to the Yunnik CBT and subsequent reliance on the Yunnik CBT as part of your application to join the register.

By context, we mean the circumstances of your CBT including any pressures or other factors influencing your CBT at Yunnik.

If you provide information and evidence regarding context and mitigating factors at an Investigating Committee Panel hearing, this can be taken into account by the Assistant Registrar if you are removed from the register and then reapply to join the register. Guidance on demonstrating that insight can be found here.

The Assistant Registrar, when considering a reapplication to join the register, will also look at whether it is likely that the conduct will be repeated. Guidance on this can be found here.

No, but it’s your choice!

All individuals who join the NMC register are required to act in line with the Code. The Code contains the professional standards that registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates must uphold. By joining the register, you commit to upholding these standards. This commitment to professional standards is fundamental to being part of a profession.

Code 20 deals specifically with honesty and integrity and alongside our character requirements, is what the Investigating Committee Panel will be considering when deciding whether to remove you from the register.

The burden is on the NMC to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that you obtained your Yunnik CBT fraudulently.

You simply denying fraud may not be enough to convince an Investigating Committee Panel that you did not obtain your CBT fraudulently. We would encourage you to consider your general duty of candour and the principles of that duty. 

The NMC can’t provide legal advice to applicants and encourages individuals to seek legal advice from an appropriate advisor.

Within the evidence bundle provided are statements from Pearson VUE and a report by an independent data analytics expert. Those documents refer to different test times.

The time you spent in the Yunnik test centre or at the computer is not the same as the test time the NMC are relying on. The test time that the NMC are relying on is the one that the independent data analytics expert has calculated. This is considered to be a fairer way to look at how long you took on your test.

The expert’s calculation ignores the time spent going through the parts of the CBT that weren’t the actual questions, such as the introduction, exit, tutorial, non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and survey screens. The calculation does include the time spent reading and answering the questions, and the time spent reviewing the questions.

The resulting test times have not been rounded up. The time is given as the exact number of minutes to two decimal points, not the number of minutes and seconds. For example, 3.89 minutes isn't 3 minutes 89 seconds (or 4 minutes and 29 seconds) but 3 minutes and .89 of a minute.

The Pearson VUE time does not include the review time and has been rounded up. It does not include any time spent on the introduction, exit, tutorial, non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and survey screens.

The Investigating Committee Panel will know that you have passed a new CBT because you can’t have a hearing until you have passed a new CBT.

It is therefore not necessary to tell the Investigating Committee Panel that you have passed your new CBT.

If you choose to rely on your new test time during your Investigating Committee Panel hearing, our case presenter will be entitled to ask questions about your resit test time and/or make submissions about it. This may be in order to challenge the argument you have that the resit test time supports your case that you did not use fraud.

The Investigating Committee Panel hearing are independent from the NMC and we can’t tell them not to ask questions about something they may feel is relevant. It is possible that they may ask you about the resits even if you do not refer to it.

If you would like to know what your resit test time was, please email RITeamA@nmc-uk.org.

Pearson Vue have confirmed that the Yunnik test centre was not one of their test centres that had CCTV in place.

There is therefore no CCTV footage available.

If you have decided to use a different representative, please email RITeamA@nmc-uk.org to confirm who your new representative is, including their contact details. Please also confirm that you no longer wish the NMC to make contact with your previous representative.

Alternatively, your new representative can contact us at RITeamA@nmc-uk.org to let us know. Your new representative should provide a form of authority signed by you to confirm that they now represent you.

You will need to communicate with your previous representative regarding their fees and to tell them that you are changing representative.

Information on the support available to you can be found here

The NMC Independent Careline

The Careline is an independent service offering confidential and non-judgmental emotional support during the investigation process*. It’s available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Whether you think you’d benefit from confidential emotional support, or would prefer practical help and advice, the support team would be happy to talk to you.

You can contact the careline on 0800 587 7396.

More information about this service can be found here

*For nurses, midwives or nursing associates who have been removed from the register following their IC hearing, the Careline service is available for a three-month period after the IC hearing.

Employer support

Your employer may also be able to provide support. Speak with your line manager or with your employer’s human resources department. Some employers provide employee assistance which may include a helpline and counselling services.

Support and advice may also be available from

• The Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association UK 
• If you are a member of a trade union, they may also be able to provide you with support and advice: UNISON, Unite the Union, Royal College of Nursing
• Your GP
• The Samaritans is a charity which provides emotional support to anyone in emotional distress.
• If you are a member of any community or faith-based groups, they may also be able to provide support and advice.

If you have any questions about the process, you can contact us at RITeamA@nmc-uk.org

Information on the support available to you can be found here

The NMC Independent Careline

The Careline is an independent service offering confidential and non-judgmental emotional support during the investigation process*. It’s available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Whether you think you’d benefit from confidential emotional support, or would prefer practical help and advice, the support team would be happy to talk to you.

You can contact the careline on 0800 587 7396.

More information about this service can be found here.

*For nurses, midwives and nursing associates who have been removed from the register following their IC hearing, the Careline service is available for a three-month period after the IC hearing.

Employer support

Your employer may also be able to provide support. Speak with your line manager or with your employer’s human resources department. Some employers provide employee assistance which may include a helpline and counselling services.

Support and advice may also be available from:

• The Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association UK
• If you are a member of a trade union, they may also be able to provide you with support and advice: UNISON, Unite the Union, Royal College of Nursing
• Your GP
• The Samaritans is a charity which provides emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. 
• If you are a member of any community or faith-based groups, they may also be able to provide support and advice.

If you have any questions about the application process, you can contact us at RITeamA@nmc-uk.org.

You were given six months to take and pass a new CBT.

If you haven’t passed a new CBT there will be an Investigating Committee Panel meeting (or hearing if you request a hearing). The panel will be asked to consider whether your entry on the register was obtained incorrectly as you have not passed a new CBT.