NOS News•
A nurse has been banned from practicing because he had a relationship for years with a patient he had met in the psychiatric clinic where he worked. The disciplinary board for healthcare calls this transgressive and unacceptable. He forced her to remain silent, which she believes worsened her psychological complaints.
It is not known which clinic is involved. The patient was admitted to the hospital in 2021 with a so-called manic-psychotic disorder high intensive caredepartment, where the nurse also worked. When she was transferred to another department, they exchanged phone numbers.
According to the disciplinary board report, a relationship then developed that lasted two years. According to the nurse there was no sexual relationship, but according to the victim there was. She wasn’t allowed to talk about it, had to delete his messages from her phone and they only went to places where no one could recognize them or catch them. The matter came to light when the patient talked about the relationship with a psychologist.
‘Professional boundaries have been significantly exceeded’
The disciplinary judges have established that there was indeed a sexual relationship, but they point out that a friendship also counts as an intimate relationship because a vulnerable patient is dependent on a nurse.
According to the disciplinary board, the man has therefore significantly exceeded professional boundaries. The board calls the fact that he also put pressure on the patient to keep the relationship secret and that parts of his statement were “demonstrably incorrect” “extremely bad”.
Due to the nurse’s “lack of insight” and the risk of recurrence, the disciplinary board has decided to have the nurse removed from the BIG register, the register in which all healthcare providers must be listed. As a result, he can never work in healthcare again. The man no longer works in mental health care.
