David Andrew Gowing, employed as a senior community mental health nurse in the crisis team of the Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, has been struck off the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) register following a misconduct hearing.
The NMC panel heard how Mr Gowing and a patient were matched on the dating app Bumble in June 2021, after which he messaged her via Facebook, before continuing to message her via text.
The panel noted how Mr Gowing visited this patient’s house for non-clinical reasons, once ordering pizza together, chatting and watching TV. These visits lasted up to three hours.
Mr Gowing encouraged the patient to drink alcohol, contacted her by phone and invited her to engage in ‘spooning’ and ‘cuddling in bed and having fun’, the panel found.
On one or more occasions, he FaceTimed this patient topless.
The patient, who has been under the care of the NHS trust since 2013, had known Mr Gowing since 2016, when he first met her on the Adult Day Treatment Unit, and subsequently supported her through one crisis episode.
In March 2022, this patient was referred to the crisis team and had received a visit from two crisis team members, one being Mr Gowing.
Following this visit, Mr Gowing continued to work with the patient, failing to disclose his non-professional contact with her in 2021. The patient reported these incidents herself in May 2022.
Following a hearing, the NMC addressed Mr Gowing and said: “The panel found that your behaviour, which included pursuing a relationship with [a patient] where you sought sexual gratification, your involvement in her care after the relationship had ended, and your failure to declare this conflict of interest, altogether amounted to misconduct.
“The panel concluded that your actions were extremely serious and unprofessional to the extent that they would be seen as deplorable by other members of the profession.
“Your misconduct constituted serious breaches of fundamental tenets of the nursing profession as you failed to uphold the standards and values of the nursing profession, thereby bringing the nursing profession into disrepute.”
Moving to strike Mr Gowing off the NMC’s register, the panel said: “Your actions were serious departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse and are fundamentally incompatible with you remaining on the register.”
Mr Gowing has 28 days to appeal the decision.