A senior nurse has been struck off the nursing register after a tribunal found he had a sexual relationship with a patient, despite being acquitted in a criminal trial. Alec Wallbank, 33, was cleared by a jury at Cardiff Crown Court last year but faced a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel, which makes rulings on the balance of probabilities.
The NMC panel found nine allegations proven against Wallbank, who worked as a deputy ward manager for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. He had denied flirting with, kissing, and having sex with a female patient, referred to as Patient A, after she was admitted to hospital in 2014.
The panel heard that Wallbank contacted Patient A via Facebook under an alias. They met for a walk, where they held hands and kissed. Patient A recalled saying, 'I bet you never thought you would do that with a patient,' to which Wallbank replied, 'especially one under section.' The pair also kissed in the hospital laundry room.
Following Patient A's discharge after a suicide attempt, they met at a hotel where they kissed again. Messages sent by Wallbank were described as 'highly inappropriate, especially given the sexual context.' Wallbank apologised in a letter for 'not observing professional boundaries' but denied a sexual relationship.
Panel chairman John Penhale said Wallbank's misconduct was 'a significant departure from the standards expected of a registered nurse' and 'fundamentally incompatible with him remaining on the register.' Wallbank was struck off the nursing register.
