Nurse lavished with expensive gifts by cancer patient is struck off

A senior nurse who was lavished with expensive gifts and given £15,000 by her vulnerable cancer patient has been struck off.

'Opportunistic' Anita George worked in the chemotherapy department at Singleton Hospital NHS Trust in Swansea, Wales, and moved in with the patient and his wife after becoming their carer in 2012.

Having moved into their bedsit, she struck up a 'personal' relationship with the wealthy business owner. A hearing was told she signed a tenancy agreement with his company, accepted 'significant gifts' of a car and several large sums of cash along with shares ranging from £2,000 to £9,959.

The elderly couple were particularly vulnerable to abuse because of their 'poor health and 'geographical separation' from their children who lived in Australia, a Nursing and Midwifery Council committee heard.

When the man died in 2016, the nurse was named in his will and his family became concerned that she 'manipulated' her patient and his wife.

There was a police investigation at the time but it did not lead to anything. Mrs George concealed her financial dependence on her patient and the fact she was in his will from the hospital she worked for.

The panel found that she had a 'clear duty' for her to disclose this information and that she had risked bringing the NHS into disrepute by not doing so.

Striking Mrs George off the register, the panel said she had taken 'significant advantage' of the elderly couple for 'considerable financial gain' which was 'fundamentally incompatible' with her continuing to be a nurse.

The panel said: 'There was a clear duty for you to disclose that you, amongst other matters, were a beneficiary of Patient A's will to your employer.

'It concluded that by not disclosing, you risked bringing the NHS into disrepute.

'You received several gifts from Patient A, and did not refuse, register or seek advice around these gifts and Patient A's legacy.

'These gifts included large loans and a car, you were situated in a property belonging to [the wife] and Patient A, and did not record this.'

During the hearing, Mrs George tried to claim that she was just a friend of the wealthy couple and did not have a professional relationship with them as a carer.

However, the panel found that she had act as a carer with a professional duty by taking the man's bloods, administered medication, arranged for medical equipment and liaised with the hospital.

The panel also found that Mrs George deliberately excluded her patient's wife, after the family alleged she was 'dismissive and unkind' towards her.

The couple's grandson told the hearing that Mrs George claimed the food that the wife was cooking for him was making him ill and that she 'only wanted to take care' of her patient.

The panel said: 'Through your misconduct, you have brought the profession into disrepute, you have breached fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and acted dishonestly.

'You chose to foster a relationship where you took significant advantage of people for whom you were undertaking caring activities for considerable financial gain, and consequently, there has been a significant impact on Patient A, Person A, their family members, and the nursing profession.

'Your actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse, and are fundamentally incompatible with you remaining on the register.

'The panel was of the view that the findings in this particular case demonstrate that your actions were serious and to allow you to continue practising would undermine public confidence in the profession and in the NMC as a regulatory body.'