Member-only story
Why Are Healthcare Workers Getting Away With Sexual Assault?
Not enough is being done to safeguard vulnerable patients
“Uphold the reputation of your profession at all times,” the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code demands. This mantra was drilled into me early in my nursing training in the UK. When I became a nurse educator, this message was passed on to my students. It was a warning: nurses are highly regarded, but one drunken misstep could undo that and see your registration taken away.
We aren’t nurses only in our contracted working hours. We are considered nurses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and should behave as such. So why are some healthcare professionals getting away with sexual assault and sexual harassment?
Each year, £120 comes out of my bank account to maintain my registration with the NMC, an organisation whose role (among others) is to protect the public by ensuring registrants meet certain standards and can practice safely. A person who sexually assaults another should surely not be able to practice, right?
Seven years ago, a nursing colleague put their hand up my dress in a bar and groped me — an act of sexual violence that, to this day, makes me feel unsafe at work. Yet, to my knowledge, they continue to practice as a nurse.
