Nurse struck off for sexually assaulting colleague at work
Andrew Cassel sexually assaulted a co-worker at Hairmyres hospital
- Published
A Lanarkshire nurse who sexually assaulted a colleague at work has been struck off by the nursing regulator.
Andrew Cassels groped a co-worker's buttocks on 12 November 2019 while working at the A&E department at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) fit to practice committee ruled his actions fell "significantly short" of expected standards.
Cassels was convicted at Hamilton Sheriff Court in January 2024 on one count of sexual assault for the Hairmyres incident.
The nurse was working with a female colleague when he handled and seized her buttocks over her clothing during the shift.
The incident was reported to NHS Lanarkshire in December 2019 and then to Police Scotland in August 2020.
After being found guilty in court, he was sentenced in April 2024 to a community payback order for a 24-month supervision period, 200 hours of unpaid work and Sexual Offences Act 2003 certification, subject to a notification requirement for two years.
The nurse previously denied he sexually assaulted his colleague, but did not appear at the Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing, and was not represented at it.
'Lack of remorse'
Lindsey McFarlane, representing the nursing regulator, said Cassels had brought the nursing profession into disrepute because of his conviction.
Ms McFarlane said Cassels continually denying the offence demonstrated "a lack of remorse or remediation", and that he had "demonstrated no insight into the behaviour which led to his conviction".
The panel ruling stated Cassels' actions were fundamentally incompatible with him remaining on the register.
They added that allowing him to continue practising would "undermine public confidence in the profession and in the NMC as a regulatory body", and therefore striking him off the register was a suitable sanction.