Misinformation Penalty
Dorset Nurse Struck Off for Spreading Covid Vaccine Misinformation to Cancer Patient
Anonymous
Key Points
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The misconduct panel heard the comments happened during a “routine appointment” in August 2023 when Senner “broached the topic of Covid jabs in a ‘sly manner’,” including first asking Patient A if she “had been vaccinated,” which she assumed was a routine inquiry.
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Patient A told the panel that Senner explicitly framed the claim as fact—she said Senner “explicitly stated that the vaccines were the cause of my cancer and that this had been ‘hushed up’,” and that Patient A understood the remarks as “a direct and definitive claim.”
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During questioning by Senner’s legal representative, Niall McCrae, Patient A said her view would not change even if evidence showed the Covid vaccines could “raise the risk of cancer” or “quicken its progress,” responding: “No, it will not change my view.”
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Patient A elaborated on her vulnerability at the time, telling the tribunal she was “going through chemotherapy,” had “no hair,” had “several medical appointments a week,” and said she “did not need somebody to come in and basically tell me that I could have prevented my own disease.”
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The panel’s findings were tied to Senner’s role as an adult nurse at Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, which employed her when the misconduct was alleged to have occurred.
A Dorset nurse has been struck off the nursing register after telling a cancer patient that Covid vaccines were "what caused your cancer." Penny Ann Senner, who worked at Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, was found guilty of four out of six misconduct charges by a Nursing and Midwifery Council panel, according to Examiner Live.
The incident happened during a routine home visit in August 2023. Patient A was undergoing active chemotherapy at the time. The NMC panel ruled that Senner's actions were "intended to undermine public confidence in public health advice" and ordered her removal from the register immediately, reports Bristol Post.
Nurse Raised Vaccines in a "Sly Manner" Mid-Appointment
The tribunal heard that Senner did not raise the topic directly. Instead, she first asked Patient A whether she "had been vaccinated," which the patient assumed was a routine medical question. Senner then told her the vaccines were the cause of her cancer and that this had been "hushed up," according to Lancs Live.
Patient A told the panel she understood Senner's words as "a direct and definitive claim" — not a suggestion. She also said Senner handed her a leaflet retrieved from her car. The leaflet contained a link to an anti-vaccination website and claims about "vax-induced turbo cancer" and excess deaths.
Cancer Patient Had "No Hair" and Multiple Weekly Appointments
Patient A described her condition to the panel in stark terms. She said she was "going through chemotherapy," had "no hair," and attended "several medical appointments a week." She told the tribunal: "I did not need somebody to come in and basically tell me that I could have prevented my own disease," as reported by Head Topics.
The panel noted the serious power imbalance between a nurse and a vulnerable patient. Senner's legal representative, Niall McCrae, asked Patient A whether evidence that vaccines could "raise the risk of cancer" would change her view. She replied: "No, it will not change my view."
NMC Calls Actions a "Significant Departure" From Professional Standards
The NMC panel found four of six charges proven after a five-day hearing in London in June 2024. The panel said Senner's conduct was "a significant departure from the standards expected of a registered nurse." She did not attend the final hearing but was legally represented throughout.
Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust said it cooperated fully with the NMC investigation. A spokesperson said the Trust "expects all staff to adhere to professional codes of conduct and provide evidence-based care," according to Lancs Live. Senner has 28 days from the written decision to appeal to the High Court.
Case Sets a Firm Line on Misinformation in Clinical Settings
The Senner case follows a string of post-pandemic hearings in which the NMC and the General Medical Council have acted against health workers spreading non-evidence-based claims. The NMC has signalled it will prefer striking-off orders over suspensions when misinformation is pushed onto vulnerable patients, reports Examiner Live.
For Patient A, the issue was never ideological. It was personal. Her testimony made clear that the harm came from the suggestion that she was responsible for her own life-threatening illness — delivered by a professional she had no reason to distrust, at one of the most vulnerable moments of her life.
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