The Alder Hey Hospital Trust case worker bought vapes for the child and told her ‘love you to bits’
A Nursing and Midwifery Council panel has dealt with the case(Image: Hull Daily Mail)
A Liverpool mental health nurse has been warned after sending “completely inappropriate” text messages to a “vulnerable” 16-year-old girl in her care. Claire Kitson, a case worker for Sefton Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services employed by Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, told the girl never to show the messages to anyone “or I could go to prison”.
A panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) found that Mrs Kitson “failed to maintain professional boundaries” with the teenager while employed as her case worker. This included sending messages outside of work hours that went beyond the clinical relationship.
The messages were described as including “protestations of love” and “coarse or vulgar expressions”, as well as “disparaging remarks” about the girl’s mother. Mrs Kitson texted the girl “Love you so much too”, “Love you to bits”, “Love you lots and lots”, as well as “I wish I could adopt you”.
She made reference to “skimpy bikini pictures” and told the girl: “Never ever show anyone these texts or I could go to prison”. The timing, frequency, language and content of many of the messages were described as “completely inappropriate”.
The panel also found that Mrs Kitson bought vapes for the child. The teenager claimed Mrs Kitson bought six vapes for her. Text messages showed that Mrs Kitson “offered to buy her vapes on many occasions”.
A spokesperson for Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said it takes concerns of this nature “extremely seriously” and that Mrs Kitson was immediately removed from any unsupervised duties when concerns were raised, with her contract terminated.
The panel said its work was hampered by a lack of important evidential material, and other allegations, including that Mrs Kitson bought razor blades and a bra for the child, and that her actions had a sexual motivation, were not proven. The allegations were deemed “hearsay”.
In text messages to the girl, Mrs Kitson “frequently” told her that she loved her in messages often sent “very late in the evening”. The head of behaviour at the girl’s school said she had seen messages from Mrs Kitson to the girl asking her to change her name in the phone and asked the girl to tell her when she had deleted the messages. Mrs Kitson denied a sexual interest in the teenager, and the panel found the allegation not proved.
The panel found that Mrs Kitson’s conduct “was likely to have a significant impact on the mind of a 16-year-old girl who was receiving treatment from Sefton CAHMS because of longstanding mental health conditions.”
The panel said Mrs Kitson conceded she could see how some of the messages might appear to indicate a mother-daughter type relationship.
The panel called Mrs Kitson’s behaviour a “serious departure” from expectations and that her actions had the potential to cause a significant risk of harm to the girl, described as a “particularly vulnerable 16-year-old.”
The panel found that Mrs Kitson’s conduct has been “remedied”, saying she had developed “significant insight” and had shown remorse, commenting on the “depth and sincerity” of her reflections.
A caution order was put in place for three years. The effect of this order is that Mrs Kitson’s name on the NMC register will show that she is subject to a caution order and anyone who enquires about her registration will be informed of this order.
The Liverpool ECHO contacted Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust for comment. A spokesperson for the trust said: “Patient safety is paramount at Alder Hey and we take concerns of this nature extremely seriously.
“We can confirm that this individual was employed by an external agency.”
They said she worked at the trust over a three-year period, and added: “Once the concerns were raised about this individual they were immediately removed from any unsupervised duties and their contract was terminated.
“The matter was also referred to the appropriate authorities and the supplying agency. The young person and family were offered support during this time.”