A UK health tribunal has removed Ifenyinwa Chizube Ndulue-Nonso from the professional register after finding she falsely presented herself as an experienced dietitian to secure a job with the NHS.

The Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) heard on March 2 that Ndulue-Nonso misrepresented her qualifications and displayed serious gaps in basic medical knowledge shortly after starting at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust in February 2024.

The tribunal found she made fundamental errors, including claiming urine is stored in the gallbladder, stating radiotherapy treats heart failure, misidentifying the large intestine as following the stomach, and failing to calculate a patient’s BMI. Her supervisor described the gaps as extremely alarming, noting they involved basic anatomy and essential professional knowledge. Concerns were formally raised within three days.

Ndulue-Nonso admitted she had never administered feeding through an intravenous catheter or used nutritional supplement drinks, and was reportedly seen searching online for basic medical terms while on duty. Investigations showed 20 of the 28 competencies she claimed were unsupported. She said she had learned correct responses from previous NHS interviews.

Although she denied deliberate deception, claiming her application reflected her Nigerian experience, the panel ruled her conduct was planned and persistent, posing a serious risk to patients.

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) has therefore removed her from the UK register of dietitians, barring her from practising in the country.

Russia is taking an unusual step to tackle its falling birth rate, as new health guidelines now recommend psychological counseling for women who say they do not want children.

Under fresh directives from the health ministry, doctors conducting reproductive health checks will ask women how many children they intend to have. If a patient responds with zero, officials advise referring her to a medical psychologist “with the goal of forming a positive attitude towards having children.”

The move comes as Vladimir Putin intensifies efforts to reverse what he has repeatedly described as a national emergency.

Russia’s population decline has been a long-standing concern throughout his 25-year rule, now worsened by the loss of hundreds of thousands of young men sent to fight in Russia-Ukraine War.

Although the guidelines were approved in late February, they only gained widespread attention this week after being reported by state media.

The Kremlin has framed the demographic slump as a matter of survival. In 2024, Putin warned that Russia risked “extinction” if birth rates did not improve.

Currently, the country’s fertility rate stands at about 1.4 children per woman, a 200-year low and well below the 2.1 level experts say is needed to maintain population stability.

In response, authorities have rolled out increasingly aggressive pro-natalist policies. These include tightening ab+rtion laws, banning so-called “child-free propaganda,” and rewarding large families with financial incentives and social benefits.

While officials argue the measures are necessary, critics say they raise serious questions about personal freedom and state interference in private life.

Students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, NAUTH, Nnewi, School of Nursing, on Tuesday protested what they described as an astronomical hike in their tuition fees.

The students had protested the increase of their tuition from N90,000 to N580,000.

The increment followed an internal memo reportedly issued on January 23 by O. I. Ezejiofor, CMAC/Chairman of the Board of NAUTH College of Nursing, announcing an upward review of the students’ school fees, citing the need to upgrade the institution.

The students responded with a protest, carrying placards at the school gate to express their opposition to the hike. Some of the students who spoke rejected the new fees and also complained about the cost of accommodations in the institution.

However, the management of the institution has pledged to meet with members of the board and the student union leadership to resolve all outstanding issues and ensure peace returns to the institution.

The Chief Medical Director of the institution, Prof. Joseph Ugonna, who spoke with Ekwutosblog , said he was away but had learned of the protest.

“Once I return to the institution, we will meet with members of the board who proposed the new tuition and also with the student union leadership to sort things out.

“As for school fees, yes, there was an increment. We just had a new board, and the board decided to review tuition to give the students the very best. They proposed N580,000 to us (management), which we approved, but there is still room for us to take a better look at it and harmonize things.

“Our fees have been very cheap, and even with the increment, we are still the lowest in fees around the South East here. So, for someone who was paying N90,000, they may protest the increment, but it is for their own good so that we can maintain standards.

“As for other complaints about the cost of accommodations, I can say that the institution does not own any; they are mostly private hostels, and the arrangements are between the students and the owners,” Ugonna stated.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mrs. Chinyere Onwuka, also told journalists that the leadership of the student union of the institution has dissociated itself from the protest.

Onwuka said: “They wrote to us, and I have the letter here. I don’t know those who organized or led the protest. Meanwhile, let me tell you that the hike in fees was very moderate.

“That amount includes their feeding and transportation to postings to Enugu. The hostels they mentioned are a private arrangement between them and the owners.”

She insisted that a comparison of the school fees of the institution and those of other schools of nursing around the South East showed that NAUTH remained affordable.

She further noted that some other institutions charge as much as N800,000 for tuition for returning students, even excluding feeding.