ach einer Lastwagen-Kollision bei Grünberg ist die A5 derzeit in Richtung Frankfurt voll gesperrt. Ein Lkw-Fahrer wurde schwer verletzt. Die Bergungsarbeiten dauern länger an, es kommt zu massiven Behinderungen.

The authors said there was “dangerous groupthink” at the NMC and highlighted how leadership did not take safeguarding warnings seriously. They said too many staff were “struggling” and were “angry, frustrated and exhausted”.

They said they heard staff talk about “antidepressants, managing their hair falling out and not being able to sleep because of bullying and bad management”.

“At virtually every level of the organisation … we witnessed a dysfunctionality that was causing emotional distress to staff and preventing the organisation from properly functioning,” the authors wrote.

Afzal, who led the review, said: “The culture is dysfunctional and it’s taking a heavy toll on staff, but it is also impacting on their work. We have found a workforce that’s really struggling and an environment where poor judgment, toxic behaviours and paralysis is affecting decision-making.

“Good nurses are finding themselves being investigated for years over minor issues and bad nurses are escaping sanction because of a system that’s not functioning as well as it should.”

Responding to the report, the NMC said the review would be a “turning point” for the organisation and promised to deliver a “culture change programme”.

Its chair, David Warren, said: “This is a profoundly distressing report to read. First and foremost, I express my condolences to the family and friends of anybody who has died by suicide while under fitness to practise investigation.

“I also apologise to those nurses, midwives, nursing associates, employers and members of the public for whom we have taken far too long to reach fitness to practise decisions.”

Asked specifically about the case where the nurse was accused of rape, an NMC spokesperson said: “This was a complex and serious set of concerns about the same individual. Some of those concerns were initially closed but were reviewed by one of our assistant registrars, who recommended that they be investigated further.

“The individual was under an interim order which restricted their practise until they were struck off at a hearing.”

Der andere Lkw-Fahrer blieb unverletzt. An der Unfallstelle lief Milch und Öl aus. Die Bergung der Fahrzeuge und die Reinigung der Unfallstelle kann sich nach Angaben der Polizei noch länger hinziehen.

Lange Staus auf Autobahn

Auf der Autobahn staute sich der Verkehr zwischenzeitlich auf bis zu 16 Kilometern. Ab der Anschlussstelle Homberg werden die Autos abgeleitet. Im Stau stehende Verkehrsteilnehmer werden einspurig an der Unfallstelle vorbeigeleitet.

Es wird empfohlen, weiträumig ab Alsfeld-Ost über die B62 und die B49 auszuweichen. Allerdings staut sich der Verkehr teilweise auch auf den Umleitungsstrecken.