A senior nurse with more than four decades of service in the NHS has been removed from the professional register after admitting to sharing a series of racially motivated posts on social media.
A Career Ended by Online Misconduct
Roberta Batchelor, who worked for the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, was struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). This action followed an investigation into Facebook posts she shared in August 2024, which were deemed discriminatory and anti-immigrant. Batchelor had been employed by the trust for over 40 years, having started as a cleaner before rising to the position of ward manager and even winning a Pride of Nursing award in Birmingham in 2015.
The Nature of the Offensive Posts
The NMC panel heard that Batchelor's posts included inflammatory imagery and captions targeting immigrants and Muslims. One post featured an image of a boat filled with people arriving at a beach, captioned: "These give nothing and get everything." This was contrasted with a picture of a homeless veteran, labelled "these give everything and get nothing."
Another post showed a child being chased by men, one wielding a knife, with a caption suggesting taxpayers' money was used for the "Protection of Mosques." Further content included a highlighted biblical passage from Deuteronomy warning that foreigners would become rulers, and a split image contrasting airport security ("YOU AT THE AIRPORT") with a man disembarking a boat ("MUHAMMAD AT DOVER").
Admission, Apology, and Ultimate Sanction
A complaint was made to the trust on 5 August 2024, prompting an internal investigation. Batchelor admitted to the posts and apologised. In a statement to the NMC, she explained she had been "caught up in all the unrest in the country" and was angry about government policies affecting pensioners. She stated she felt "disgusted" by her actions and requested to be "removed from nursing", saying she no longer felt she deserved the privilege.
However, the NMC panel concluded her remorse did not demonstrate "serious reflection" and pointed to "deep-seated attitudinal issues." They ruled her actions were a significant departure from professional standards and fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the register. The panel decided a striking-off order was necessary to protect the public, uphold professional confidence, and send a clear message about expected conduct.
Batchelor agreed with the sanction, formally ending a 45-year nursing career.
