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NHS sacks cancer-hit nurse after 16 years service

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Gemma Crispin

A nurse was dismissed from the NHS following 16 years of service after she was diagnosed with very aggressive stage three breast cancer. Gemma Crispin, 52, a former paediatric nurse, vaccinator and then team administrator in the NHS, found out she had stage 3 breast cancer on July 4, 2025 after noticing changes in her left breast.

She has undergone six rounds of chemotherapy and 15 lots of radiotherapy - and is now in the process of 12 more lots of chemotherapy. Gemma has been told her cancer is very aggressive.

However, after being off work for 10 months, Gemma claims she was sacked by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) with barely any warning.

She said: I thought of many things that I'd have to worry about when I was diagnosed with cancer - my job wasn't one of them. I just thought theyd be more understanding considering the NHS are the people that treat and care - apparently - for people.

Gemma, who was hospitalised during her first round of chemotherapy after contracting chemotoxicity, said: I've reacted very badly to all forms of treatment, unfortunately - and I feel like they've almost blamed me for that. I've very much felt like an inconvenience.

The mother-of-three has accused KCHFT of not being clear and transparent" as they allegedly failed to tell her she was under a formal procedure and did not contact her at all until a week after she had a single mastectomy on December 31 2025.

Speaking through Talk to the Press, she said: In the absence policy, it says that you have to make regular contact from the beginning of my absence. But the first very first contact I had was a week after I had my mastectomy - so a week after major surgery - they contacted me.

She says that at the start of this year, the trust offered a mutually agreed resignation scheme to all staff - which she applied for just to take the stress out of the situation. But it was declined on February 20 - two days after she had submitted her application.

KCHFT instead told her that same day she was subject to a procedure but Gemma says she had no idea what that meant and was completely unaware - until that point - that she was undergoing an absence procedure.

She met with the trust on March 16 where they told her they couldnt sustain your absence as her treatment would be at least until the middle of October. Gemma started radiotherapy two days later. She hadnt been paid since January after her statutory sick pay ended.

Gemma said: Its hindered my recovery without a doubt - the stress has been awful. It's been horrid. I've never had a lot of time off. I've never lost a job in my life.

She says the trust told her they would go down the ill health capability dismissal route - a process where employment may be terminated if they cannot work due to health issues - and gave her the option to attend an in-person hearing. However - Gemma was not well enough to attend a hearing and opted to do the appeal via a modified process, which is paper-based.

Her appeal was unsuccessful and Gemma received her official dismissal letter on April 17, 2026. She then appealed again, but that was also dismissed on June 26.

She claims she was told the trust could only manage 12 months of absence but that was not in the absence policy.

Gemma said: I feel completely let down. They've not followed procedure and they've not been transparent with me. I have, at all steps, felt that I haven't known until it's happened. The irony is that on their paperwork they put we care at the bottom. I'm not sleeping - and I've lost my income and my independence.

Gemma was a paediatric nurse for 11 years, before working in safeguarding in school and returning to the NHS during the pandemic to be a vaccinator in 2020. Five years ago, she began her admin role.

She said she wanted to help with the pandemic and the mass vaccination service.

Gemma and her husband, Toby, paid 3,000 to see an employment solicitor who said it was an unfair and discriminatory dismissal.

However, she says she doesnt have the funds to progress any further.

She said: We can't afford to go any further with that and also the stress - it could go on for years if you went to an employment tribunal and I can't do it. I feel very very frustrated. It's an injustice, in my opinion and I've got nowhere to go.

A spokesperson from KCHFT said: "We are unable to comment on individual employment matters. However, we can confirm that Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust always carefully considers all relevant individual information and follows its policies and procedures before reaching decisions about individuals future employment.

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