A practice nurse who lied about carrying out assessments on diabetic patients has been suspended for six months.
Olivia Phillips recorded foot assessments for 15 patients at Spencer Street Surgery in Carlisle when they had not been carried out adequately or at all, a misconduct hearing was told.
People with diabetes are at higher risk of developing serious foot problems, potentially leading to amputations and have to be regularly monitored.
Regulator the Nurse and Midwifery Council (NMC) said Phillips's behaviour caused "a significant risk of harm to patients". The surgery said it was unable to comment on the case.
Phillips's falsified assessments had been carried out between February and April 2024, a report by the NMC showed.
The surgery, where she had worked since November 2022, referred her to the regulator after the issue came to light.
During the misconduct hearing led by the NMC, Phillips admitted to not carrying out the assessments but recording them as completed.
She claimed she had "misunderstood the task" after a performance meeting and she felt she should "simply tick boxes" irrespective of whether she had completed a physical diabetic foot assessments or not.
The panel said the explanation was "not credible", an NMC report said.
"The panel noted that [Phillips] did in fact properly perform these physical examinations on several other occasions in the same period, and without incident."
Phillips told the misconduct panel she had felt under "considerable pressure" to hit targets.
"[The panel] heard the importance of targets being achieved in respect of both patient safety and additional funding to the practice,"
the report said.
Phillips said it had been "reiterated at several performance meetings" and added she had felt unsupported by her team.
But the panel found she had "sought to mislead others" and her "dishonest" actions amounted to misconduct.
A statement from Phillips included in the NMC report said she felt "deep remorse" for betraying her patients' trust.
She said: "I know that I failed my patients and for that I don't think I will ever forgive myself."
The misconduct panel heard Phillips no longer worked as a nurse and references were provided from her current employer in the addiction rehabilitation sector.
The panel said it acknowledged the pressure she had been under to hit targets, but concluded Phillips's behaviour caused "a significant risk of harm to patients".
The panel ruled her fitness to practise was impaired, but said it made the judgment on public interest grounds alone to mark "the seriousness of the misconduct identified".
It said it believed she now presented "a minimal risk to the public or to patients".
The panel said a six-month suspension would have a punitive effect, but striking her off the register would be disproportionate.
The NMC said Phillips had shown a "great level of both insight and remorse".
The report said: "The panel acknowledged that protracted dishonesty on a number of occasions is usually not easily remediable."
"However, the panel were of the view that your reflections on [Phillips's] dishonesty were very compelling and were significantly in depth."