A nurse who was suspended after making a sexualised comment about children during a workplace conversation with a colleague has been permitted to return to practice. James Murray received a six-month suspension from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in March this year following remarks to the effect of "if they can bleed, they can breed".
Incident at St Andrews Community Hospital
The tribunal observed that the conversation, which took place on July 22, 2022, occurred in the presence of other colleagues and could potentially have been overheard by patients. Earlier that same day Mr Murray, who worked as a nurse at St Andrews Community Hospital in Fife, also used profanity and made a two-fingered gesture at the charge nurse during discussions about staffing arrangements related to Covid-19 protocols.
The panel determined that Mr Murray's conduct had shown "a serious lack of judgment". It continued: "It was capable of causing shock and distress to colleagues, risked reputational damage to the profession and was inconsistent with the standards expected of a registered nurse."
NMC ruling on fitness to practise
Following a review hearing on September 18, the NMC concluded that Mr Murray's fitness to practise is no longer "impaired", and that his suspension order should be permitted to expire on October 2. This means Mr Murray is now able to resume work as a registered nurse.
In outlining its decision the panel said of Mr Murray: "You accepted responsibility for your actions and showed remorse. You also recognised that even if you did not intend to cause harm, your behaviour could still have caused distress, worry or concern to others. The panel considered this to be a meaningful shift in your understanding because you were able to look beyond your own intention and focus on the possible effect on others."
The statement continued: "Today's panel received new information, including your written reflection, training, reading, testimonials, oral evidence and evidence that there had been no repetition of the original conduct since July 2022. Taking all of this together, the panel was satisfied that the concerns have been addressed, that you are now not liable to repeat matters of the kind found proved."
Ricky Gervais denies joke
At the initial hearing, Mr Murray admitted he had made the comment about children, but argued he had been repeating a joke originally told by comedian Ricky Gervais. Gervais, reacting to the ruling on social media platform X, stated he has "never said anything like this in a sketch, a screenplay, stand up or privately".
