A NURSE who bought risque underwear for a secret Santa and told a colleague she had a "peachy bum" has been banned from nursing.

Timothy Alan Bray was handed a striking-off order after a Nursing and Midwifery Council Fitness to Practise Committee hearing in February.

The panel heard that Bray, who had been working as a staff nurse for Wye Valley NHS Trust, was accused of behaving in an unprofessional or inappropriate manner towards several colleagues.

The allegations included accusations that he had tapped a colleague's bottom, walked into the changing room unannounced when colleagues were changing, and given a colleague risque underwear as a secret Santa gift.

He had also told her she had a "peachy bum", that he would buy her underwear, asked to see her intimate piercings, and sent her Facebook messages which included that he "heard that you ladies like men to be shaved" and that he had shaved and would love to show her.

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He was further accused of having in an unprofessional or inappropriate manner to a second colleague in February 2021, seeking her out on Facebook, telling her he had a dream about her, and 'staring' at her at a vaccination centre, while a third colleague's accusations included that he had asked her about her bra, stared at her when she was changing, and asked her about her last period.

A fourth colleague was also told that he had a dream about her "and it turned me on", while a fifth colleague said he had told her that "only dirty girls wear contact lenses, they get chlamydia".

He had searched through a sixth colleague's social media without her knowledge, while a seventh colleague's allegations included that he had grabbed her and kissed her on the mouth His conduct towards his colleagues between 2016 and 2021 amounted to harassment and were motivated by the purposes of sexual gratification or pursuing a sexual relationship, the NMC was told.

Bray, who started working at the trust in 2008, was suspended in March 2021 after concerns were raised and dismissed in August 2021, with an interim suspension order imposed by the NMC in October that year.

During a trust investigation, he said he could remember some allegations but not others, and made some admissions, passing them off as having no sexual element.

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He said he was devastated that his actions had caused distress, but admitted that his behaviour with regard to some of the allegations had been unacceptable.

The majority of the charges were found proved, with the panel finding that Bray's conduct was harassing in nature, for his own sexual gratification, and at "the higher end of the spectrum of serious misconduct".

The panel said Bray had exploited his position of power as a senior nurse in his unit, causing junior female members of staff distress.

He had offered his apologies during an interview with the trust, admitting that it "sounds absolutely awful" and that he was "thoroughly ashamed" of himself,and had started to address his behaviour, but had not sufficiently demonstrated how he would behave differently in the future.

The panel found Bray's fitness to practice was impaired and he was struck off the register.

The panel also imposed an interim suspension order for a period of 18 months to cover an appeal, if made. 

If no appeal is made, then the interim suspension order will be replaced by the substantive suspension order 28 days after Bray is sent the decision of the hearing in writing.