A mental health nurse who used artificial intelligence to create naked images of children has been removed from the nursing register. George Nish, a former charge nurse at Ailsa Hospital in Ayr, was convicted last November of offences relating to the creation and possession of indecent images of children.
NMC panel ruling
Last week, a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel ruled that his offending was so serious that allowing him to remain a registered nurse would undermine public confidence in the profession. Nish, who had worked for the health service for 36 years, was charged in October 2024. In April 2025, he wrote to the NMC to announce his retirement and voluntarily remove himself from the register.
At a hearing on October 2, 2026, an NMC panel ordered that he be struck off, meaning he will be barred from working as a registered nurse, midwife, or nursing associate. It also imposed an interim suspension order to cover the period before the strike-off can take effect.
Panel's reasoning
In its written determination, the committee said: “The panel was of the view that Mr Nish’s actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse and are fundamentally incompatible with him remaining on the register.”
It added: “The panel took into account that Mr Nish’s offences involved sexual offences concerning children and went beyond the possession of sexual images to downloading and taking clones of children and running them through AI to create naked images of them.”
The panel concluded that “nothing short of a striking-off order” would be sufficient to maintain public confidence in the nursing profession and to send a “clear message” about the standards of behaviour expected of a registered nurse. It also said the “repeated” nature of Nish’s offending was “particularly significant in assessing the likelihood of future harm.”
Response from Nish's representatives
In a letter to the committee dated September 24, 2026, Nish’s representatives at the Royal College of Nursing made clear he does not intend to return to the profession. The letter read: “Mr Nish … acknowledges the charges and accepts the seriousness of his conduct. He has demonstrated insight into the concerns and has expressed genuine remorse.”
