A Dorset nurse has been struck off the professional register after telling a vulnerable cancer patient that Covid-19 vaccinations had caused her illness and suggesting that this information had been deliberately concealed from the public.
The decision by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) highlights the serious responsibilities healthcare professionals carry when discussing medical issues with patients, particularly those facing life-changing diagnoses and intensive treatment.
Penny Ann Senner, who was employed by Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, was found guilty of professional misconduct after a tribunal heard she made the comments during a routine appointment with a patient undergoing treatment for cancer in August 2023.
According to evidence presented to the panel, the patient had assumed questions about her vaccination status were part of a standard medical assessment. Instead, after confirming she had received Covid vaccinations and booster doses, she was told by Senner: “That’s what caused your cancer.”
The patient, referred to as Patient A, said the statement was delivered as a certainty rather than a personal opinion or speculation. She told the tribunal that Senner claimed the link between Covid vaccines and cancer had been “hushed up”.
For someone already enduring chemotherapy and the physical and emotional toll of cancer treatment, the impact was profound.
Patient A described herself as being in a “very vulnerable state” at the time. She was undergoing multiple medical appointments every week, had lost her hair because of chemotherapy and was struggling with the realities of a serious illness. The suggestion that she might somehow have been responsible for her own condition caused considerable distress.
Her testimony was particularly powerful because it highlighted the human consequences of misinformation when it is delivered by someone in a position of trust. Patients understandably expect nurses and other healthcare professionals to provide evidence-based advice grounded in established medical knowledge.
The tribunal found that Senner’s actions undermined public confidence in public health guidance and concluded that her conduct had caused lasting emotional and psychological harm to the patient.
Although the panel accepted that Senner did not intend to cause harm, it concluded that she had failed to recognise the patient’s vulnerability and had not behaved in a professional or compassionate manner.
The case also revealed additional concerns. Senner was found to have accessed numerous patient records without authorisation or any legitimate clinical purpose. Evidence showed she had begun compiling information from patient files following the rollout of Covid vaccines, describing her activities as “research”.
Unauthorised access to confidential medical records represents a serious breach of patient trust and confidentiality, principles that sit at the heart of modern healthcare practice.
In reaching its decision, the NMC panel found four of six charges proven and imposed the most severe sanction available: removal from the nursing register. An interim suspension order of 18 months has been imposed while any potential appeal process takes place.
The case serves as a reminder that healthcare professionals are expected to base their advice on credible scientific evidence, not personal beliefs or conspiracy theories. When patients are at their most vulnerable, trust is not simply important—it is essential.
