Manchester nurse who had car cleaned after son's crime struck off

Dean was dismissed from her role at North Manchester General Hospital after her conviction in 2021

A mental health nurse who had her car valeted to help her son after he shot a man in it has been struck off.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) heard Patricia Dean had the car she leased from the NHS cleaned after her son shot a man in the back seat in January 2019.

A panel was told she was dismissed from North Manchester General Hospital after being jailed for 18 months in 2021.

The NMC found she had "breached the fundamental tenets" of nursing.

The hearing was told Dean had allowed her son to use the car on 21 January 2019 and he had fired on a man in the back seat, injuring his leg.

It heard that Dean's trial was told she was aware of what her son had done and took the car to get it cleaned "to remove any potential forensic evidence of the crime".

'Clear message'

The panel was told Dean had denied knowing about what happened and maintained her innocence, but the judge in her case had said there had been "extremely serious criminality" and the nature of the assistance she provided "was clear, serious and significant".

Dean, who had been a registered mental health nurse since 2006, was found guilty following a trial at Bolton Crown Court in 2021 and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Striking her from the nursing register, the panel said she had "breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession, as you acted without integrity and were found to be dishonest".

It said her behaviour had "undermined the reputation of the profession" and had found that confidence in the profession "would be undermined if its regulator did not find charges relating to your conviction extremely serious".

It said Dean had shown little insight into the impact of her actions on the profession and, while there were "no concerns" about her nursing skills, a "finding of impairment" was necessary "on the grounds of public interest".

It added that a striking-off order was necessary "to send to the public and the profession a clear message about the standard of behaviour required of a registered nurse".