Nurse Removed from Register After Prison Phone Smuggling Conviction
A nurse has been struck off the professional register after receiving a suspended prison sentence for smuggling a mobile phone into HMP Durham on behalf of a drugs gang. Kimberley Finn, who worked at the prison on an agency basis, was handed a nine-month suspended sentence in January 2025 for her role in the conspiracy.
Court Hearing Reveals Details of the Crime
Newcastle Crown Court heard that Finn agreed to pass a package to a prisoner during a consultation, enabling him to transfer it to another inmate. The scheme unravelled in August 2022 when a search at HMP Northumberland uncovered a phone containing conversations about drugs and contraband. It is understood the phone's owner had attended school with Finn.
The conversations included a message from Finn advising: "Delete chats lads, wise heads on." She was sentenced as part of a group of eight individuals involved in an operation to bring drugs into HMP Northumberland and HMP Durham, though she faced no direct drug charges herself.
Nursing Council's Decision and Rationale
The Nursing and Midwifery Council panel determined that Finn, from Boldon Colliery, had brought the nursing profession "into disrepute" by being a "significant participant in a conspiracy involving several other people to introduce a banned item to a prison." She had admitted conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison in court, with her nine-month jail term suspended for 18 months alongside rehabilitation requirements.
In its ruling, the panel stated: "Taking into account Miss Finn’s significant breach of trust and her own understanding that what she was doing was illegal, the panel found that maintenance of public confidence in the nursing profession required a finding of impairment as does upholding the proper standards of conduct and behaviour required of a registered nurse."
It added: "The panel determined that members of the public would be appalled if a registered nurse were not found impaired in circumstances where the nurse had abused their position of trust in this way."
Mitigating Factors and Final Outcome
The panel acknowledged that Finn had pleaded guilty, made early admissions of guilt, demonstrated good character previously, and caused no harm to patients. However, it concluded that any penalty less than striking off would be "disproportionate to the gravity of the offence" and "insufficient to address public interest concerns."
This decision results in the removal of Finn's name from the Register, permanently barring her from working as a nursing associate, midwife, or registered nurse in the future.
