A South London senior midwife who locked colleagues in a room has been struck from the register. Stella Roberts was found to have bullied and humiliated colleagues while head of midwifery at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where she has not worked since 2019.
Misconduct Findings
A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) misconduct panel ruled Ms Roberts' fitness to practise as a midwife was impaired after hearings in October 2025 and April this year, which she did not attend. In a new report, the panel said Ms Roberts had, "in a position of seniority, created a bullying and toxic environment for colleagues and in doing so, caused risks to patient safety, and... also acted dishonestly in securing employment elsewhere".
Ms Roberts was employed as head of midwifery at St George's at the time of the incidents. She was suspended from the trust in September 2019, while her behaviour was investigated, and resigned that month.
Bullying and Intimidation
The panel ruled Ms Roberts had shown a sustained course of bullying, belittling, embarrassing and dismissive behaviour towards colleagues, including shouting at and berating them, which had left them feeling distressed, scared and intimidated. The panel heard from witnesses that morale on the maternity unit was "at an all-time low and that it was a toxic environment", which a senior staff member described as a "really dangerous situation" that could lead to patient safety issues. Witnesses described how they were scared to escalate concerns for fear of Ms Roberts' reaction.
In one incident, Ms Roberts was found to have locked colleagues in a meeting room after becoming "very angry" when some people arrived late. One matron said: "Ms Roberts turned the key, blocked the door with her body and raised her voice in an angry manner about the numerous interruptions. I was intimidated and shocked. I felt imprisoned in the office."
Ms Roberts was also found to have looked through a midwife's personal work diary. One midwife said she had felt anxious about going to work as she did not know whether Ms Roberts was going to shout at her. The midwife said another colleague had reported Ms Roberts being "extremely unkind towards her" when discussing patient notes, which had left her "actually scared". Another midwife said that during meetings "it became clear through staff members' body language and behaviour that Ms Roberts instilled fear and trepidation in the team" and that she "often humiliated colleagues in a public forum".
Dishonest Employment
The panel also found Ms Roberts had acted dishonestly by failing to inform West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust that she had been placed under investigation and suspended by St George's when it offered her a job as head of midwifery in September 2019. Ms Roberts took up employment at West Herts in November 2019 and was dismissed in February 2020, after the trust became aware of the investigation.
Sanction
The NMC suspended Ms Roberts from the register for 18 months in October 2025, before meeting again in April this year to decide on her fitness to practise. The panel ruled Ms Roberts' actions had fallen seriously short of the standards expected of a registered midwife and amounted to misconduct. The report said: "The panel found that patients were put at risk of harm as a result of Miss Roberts’ misconduct, due to the emotional harm and toxic workplace culture she created for colleagues, which could have affected patient care and safety." It considered that by carrying out sustained bullying towards colleagues at the trust and acting dishonestly during her employment process with West Herts, Miss Roberts brought the reputation of the midwifery profession into disrepute.
The panel said it had no evidence of remorse from Ms Roberts or understanding about her actions as she had not engaged with the proceedings since August 2021, when she had disputed the allegations. The panel decided to strike Ms Roberts from the register.
Trust Response
A St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: "We reported an individual to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in 2019 for failing to follow professional standards, including treating everyone with respect and dignity - they no longer work for the trust."
