Orla Dillon, a mental health nurse who worked on the Regency Ward at Mill View Hospital in Hove, faced a Nursery and Midwifery Council misconduct hearing between January 26 and 29.
The nurse – whose role was equivalent to a deputy ward manager – met the patient while he was “under [her] close care”, the tribunal report said.
But she began a relationship with the patient just eight days after he was discharged, during which they had sex and spoke on chess.com.
She initially claimed she had “bumped into him in Queen’s Park” before admitting she had “not been entirely truthful” and revealing the sexual relationship.
Ms Dillon expressed “great sorrow” about the relationship and said it was difficult to leave as she “feared for her safety” and was “isolated” by him.
The tribunal report said that Ms Dillon started the relationship with the patient on March 27, 2024, after he was discharged on March 19.
They exchanged chess.com usernames to “continue contact” and met up at various locations such as Queen’s Park, Preston Park and the Level.
On March 30, the pair met up at Green Door Store, a live music venue in Brighton, where they “danced” and “kissed and/or hugged” before the patient walked her home.
They went on to have sex with each other on multiple occasions and stayed overnight at each other’s homes.
A day after they began their relationship, the man revealed to his probation officer that he was involved in a relationship with a mental health nurse.
On April 2, the nurse completed a statement and said she “stressed the importance of professional boundaries when she ‘bumped into him’ at Queen’s Park”.
Prior to this, Ms Dillon told her supervisor that the relationship was strictly professional, though she did state she had built a “therapeutic rapport” with him.
But she was suspended on April 9. Three days later, Ms Dillon revealed she had “not been truthful”. She was dismissed on June 20.
Ms Dillon admitted to all the charges and said he is now “blocked on all platforms”.
She revealed that it was a “turbulent relationship” and she was “isolated” by him, often discouraged from seeing friends. She said this made it “very difficult to leave”.
She also expressed “great sorrow for failing him as a clinical professional”.
The record of the misconduct hearing states: “You stated that through embarking on a relationship with someone with who it was your role to protect and to care for, you breached boundaries and fractured the trust of a patient under the healthcare system.
“You said that you understand that Patient A’s trust and engagement with future therapeutic relationships is going to be ‘really’ affected.
“You also stated that you are aware that Patient A will have an identified risk on his record, which will impact the type of care that he receives, and the way risks assessments will be conducted, in the future.
“You said that you have great sorrow for failing him as a clinical professional.”
The panel heard Ms Dillon has since undertaken “a lot of mandatory training in relation to professional boundaries, professional relationships and supporting clients”.
This includes a private training course in May 2024 which “helped [her] reflect”. She then attempted to end the relationship, but it “took a few attempts of leaving as [she] had a fear for [her] own safety”.
The panel found that the relationship, which ended in November 2024, amounted to misconduct.
She was issued a suspension order of 12 months and an interim suspension order of 18 months as her “fitness to practice is impaired”.