A nurse who embarked on a sexual relationship with a mental health patient has been struck off.
Jill McLaren, 38, had secret trysts with the man who was being treated at the secure Glasgow clinic where she worked. This included her taking him to her home under the guise of an escorted Christmas shopping trip.
McLaren, of Greenock, pled guilty to engaging in sexual activity with the man at Glasgow Sheriff Court. She was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, put under supervision for 18 months and tagged for five months for the crime which spanned between July 2018 and September 2019.
Her name was also added to the sex offenders‘ register for 18 months after she was sentenced in November 2023.
McLaren was hauled before the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) who ruled they had no option but to ban her from nursing. The court heard McLaren and the man started frequently chatting about their shared love for fitness.
She then told him she started a shift on his ward in order to see him and they began to flirt with each other. The illicit relationship eventually emerged and the man’s mental health deteriorated after he was made aware that the staff knew about it. He later confessed to his lawyer and staff at the unit and McLaren was arrested.
Sheriff Gerard Considine blasted McLaren for a ‘gross breach of trust’ and said she had been ‘publicly humiliated’ for her actions.
In a written ruling, the NMC said: “The panel determined that the misconduct relating to Ms McLaren’s conviction is very serious and falls considerably short of that expected of a registered nurse. Ms McLaren’s inappropriate sexual behaviour with a vulnerable patient, and abuse of a position of trust, demonstrated deep-seated attitudinal issues.
“The panel noted that Ms McLaren has not demonstrated an understanding of how her actions put patients at a risk of harm, and what she did was wrong, and how this impacted negatively on her patients, colleagues, and the reputation of the nursing profession.”
The watchdog added: “Balancing all of these factors and after taking into account all the evidence before it during this case, the panel determined that the appropriate and proportionate sanction is that of a striking-off order.
“Having regard to the matters it identified, in particular the effect of Ms McLaren’s actions in bringing the profession into disrepute by adversely affecting the public’s view of how a registered nurse should conduct themselves, the panel has concluded that nothing short of this would be sufficient in this case.”
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