In a recent disciplinary hearing, Nirali Patel, a senior mental health nurse, has been permanently removed from the profession after admitting to inappropriate conduct with a prisoner under her care. The disciplinary panel labeled her actions as a severe risk to public safety.
Patel acknowledged engaging in inappropriate physical contact with the prisoner during one-to-one therapy sessions, eventually leading to a sexual relationship after the individual’s release. The nurse faced 11 misconduct charges, with the disciplinary hearing determining that her actions posed a significant threat to the health, safety, and well-being of the public.
Operating at HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire, Patel’s inappropriate behavior took place during sessions with a prisoner referred to as Patient A, spanning from May to December 2021. Patient A testified that Patel “preyed on” him, engaging in behaviors such as flirting, stroking his arms, and playing with his hands during their weekly sessions.
Upon the prisoner’s release in December 2021, Patel provided her personal email address, leading to multiple face-to-face encounters and the initiation of a sexual relationship. The relationship continued until around March 2022, during which Patel transferred £175 to the former prisoner and sent numerous emails expressing her love and a desire to divorce her husband.
The disciplinary panel also uncovered that Patel had seen Patient A while he was still in prison without any clinical justification and for a duration exceeding the maximum weekly expectation for service users.
In response to questioning, Patient A revealed that the relationship evolved into a romantic one, stating, “It turned into a romantic relationship where she seduced me by touching and verbal comments, she would stroke my arms and legs.”
While Patel argued that she had merely “let her guard down” and claimed an emotional attachment between them, the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) misconduct panel determined her actions to be incompatible with continued registration as a nurse.
Acknowledging Patel’s remorse, the NMC panel concluded that she abused her position, transgressed professional boundaries, and caused actual harm, raising fundamental concerns about her professionalism and trustworthiness. The chairman of the panel, Rachel Cook, emphasized the severity of the breach and imposed a striking off order, permanently barring Patel from practicing as a nurse. Cook stated, “Her actions have raised fundamental concerns surrounding her professionalism and trustworthiness and are incompatible with continued registration.”
