A midwife has been struck off after failing to tell doctors an aborted baby was alive.

Bernadette Kelly was working at Medway Maritime Hospital's delivery suite when the incident happened in April 2015.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing was told the nurse didn't tell the mother, a relative or senior staff the baby was showing signs of life.

She also failed to record that the baby's limbs were moving and its heart was beating for 15 minutes, wrapped the baby in an incontinence pad and when asked by a relative why the baby was moving claimed it was a reflex.

The baby was aborted at 16 weeks due to severe genetic defects and therefore had no chance of survival.

Ms Kelly was not judged to have acted dishonestly as she genuinely believed the movements were reflexes.

She said she'd used an incontinence pad to swaddle the baby because she was concerned sheets and blankets would be too rough.

During a shift later that day she also botched another infant's care, incorrectly monitoring vital signs and failing to escalate the situation.

She has not worked since, with suspension orders twice extended because she failed to engage with the disciplinary process.

During the hearing in London a panel was told Ms Kelly, who now lives in West Sussex, had shown no remorse and failed to send them any evidence of remediation.

In fact, over the phone she'd said she "didn't care" what the outcome was and had no intention of returning to work.

The panel ruled that due to her lack of engagement it was impossible to know whether she still posed a risk to the public and given she had already been suspended for 18 months the most appropriate ruling was to strike her name from the register.

Executive director of Nursing at Medway NHS Foundation Trust Karen Rule said: “The actions of the midwife in 2015 were wholly unacceptable and not of the high standard of care that we expect of our staff. We would again like to offer our sincere apologies to the families involved.

“As soon as we became aware of concerns around the midwife’s practice, we began a formal investigation into these incidents. While the investigation was taking place, she worked under constant supervision and did not see patients without a senior member of staff in attendance at all times. One of the outcomes of the investigation was that the midwife did not follow the clear and formal procedures we have in place for when a baby is born at an early gestation and unexpectedly shows sign of life. Upon conclusion of the investigation, the midwife was dismissed from the Trust and we referred her to the NMC. We have engaged fully with the NMC’s fitness to practise investigation and fully support the outcome of their investigation.”