A nurse who worked at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton has been struck off after being jailed for having sex with an under-age girl.
Graeme Gordon, 36, of Sussex Street, Brighton, was struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on Friday (18 July).
Gordon, who worked in the Emergency Department at the Royal Alex, was arrested last August and convicted in October of having sex with the girl on three occasions.
She was not a patient at the children’s hospital where Gordon had worked for nine years.
In January he was convicted at the same court – Reading Crown Court – of grooming a 14-year-old girl after making contact with her online.
Gordon was jailed for 38 months for the offences.
He was also jailed for six months for having child porn.
The NMC found that as a registered nurse, Gordon’s fitness to practise was impaired because of his conviction.
Today (Monday 21 July) the hospital’s chief executive Matthew Kershaw said: “Early last Friday morning I sent a very important message to all staff.
“The purpose of that message was to make staff aware of a decision we had taken to proactively tell the media about a male nurse who worked in the Emergency Department of our Children’s Hospital who last August was arrested, charged and is now imprisoned for a number of shocking and serious charges including sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl.
“The police found absolutely no evidence that this nurse’s offending behaviour involved his place of work or that the safety of children in our care had been put at risk and we wanted to do our best to minimise the confusion and distress that speculative or inaccurate media coverage would undoubtedly have generated for the parents of children who had been treated at the Alex and for our staff, who I wanted to hear about it from me before seeing such a concerning story in the media.”
Mr Kershaw, the chief executive of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which includes the Royal Alex, added: “The story did appear in a couple of national papers over the weekend and so far the reporting has been fair and factual.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank all the staff who work in the Alex, and particularly our children’s Emergency Department, for the calm professionalism and integrity they have demonstrated throughout what I know has been a very difficult time.”
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