Bridport nurse Julie Kirby struck off after relationship with patient

Julie Kirby worked at Bridport Medical Centre

A nurse who had a sexual relationship with one of her patients has been struck off following a disciplinary hearing.

Julie Kirby, who worked at Bridport Medical Centre in Dorset, was found to have been in a relationship with the woman for about six months in 2019.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel said she "abused her position of trust and power" over the woman.

It said her breach of professional standards was "extremely serious".

In a private hearing held earlier this month, the disciplinary panel found Mrs Kirby carried out an internal vaginal examination on the patient that was not clinically justified and was sexually motivated.

The panel heard the patient had been friends with Mrs Kirby, who qualified as a nurse in 1985, between 2015 and 2018.

But the panel's report said Mrs Kirby would have been aware of the patient's "vulnerability", having known her for some time.

In a statement, Mrs Kirby said she appreciated she "should have set and maintained clear sexual boundaries and not allowed the relationship to progress."

However, earlier in the hearing she had told the panel the allegations were "malicious and spurious".

The panel also found that Mrs Kirby had told the patient that she was being monitored every time she attended the centre, which was untrue.

It said she was concerned the patient "would divulge their relationship to the GPs at the centre" and so had "good reason" to keep the patient away from it.

The panel concluded Mrs Kirby's actions fell "significantly short" of the standards expected and allowing her to continue as a nurse "would undermine public confidence in the profession and in the NMC as a regulatory body".