Coventry nurse struck off for sharing indecent images of children

Ross Palmer was suspended from his role at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire in May 2020

A nurse has been struck off after he admitted downloading and sharing indecent images of children.

Ross Palmer, who worked at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW), was banned from the profession after a hearing found his fitness to practise was impaired.

He had downloaded and shared five indecent images of children, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

UHCW said Mr Palmer was suspended when it was made aware of allegations.

Following a hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Fitness to Practice Committee on 10 July, Mr Palmer was struck off the nursing register following an interim suspension order.

He had been suspended from his UHCW role on 11 May 2020 and was subsequently dismissed after a criminal investigation was launched by West Midlands Police, although the NMC said no prosecution was brought.

After a police search of his home address on 29 April that year, Mr Palmer was found to have downloaded five indecent images of children between 10 December 2019 and 29 January 2020, the panel was told.

He had subsequently shared the images with an unknown party through a web-based application - actions the NMC found had been "sexually motivated in pursuit of sexual gratification".

During a police interview, the nurse had also admitted he had a "bit of attraction" to the images, after being given access to the file via Dropbox several years ago.

'Risk of repetition'

Although the incident occurred in his private life, rather than his professional capacity as a nurse, the hearing found Mr Palmer had "acted in a way that fell significantly short of the standard of a nurse".

The panel was told he had admitted the actions to his employer, the police and the NMC, and noted that he had removed himself from the nursing profession and was working for a food manufacturer.

The NMC said it had not been satisfied "that the misconduct in this case was capable of being remediated," adding that there was a "risk of repetition".

"While he no longer practises as a nurse, he is liable to be a risk in any future role related to children," the NMC determined.

"The panel therefore decided that a finding of impairment is necessary on the grounds of public protection."

In a statement, UHCW said: "As soon as we were made aware of these allegations by the police, Mr Palmer was suspended and referred to the NMC before being subsequently dismissed.

"We respect the decision of the NMC, which makes it clear that the charges admitted occurred in Mr Palmer's private life."