A prison nurse has been struck off the register after having an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner.

Deborah Killiana Pangeti, a 35 year old mental health nurse from Hedge End, Southampton was employed in the Healthcare Centre at HMP Winchester in 2006 when she kissed a prisoner and performed an act of oral sex upon him.

The independent panel of the Nursing & Midwifery Council's (NMC) Conduct and Competence Committee determined that her conduct was in serious breach of her position of trust within the prison and therefore in breach of the NMC Code of Professional Conduct.

The panel agreed that because her actions had potentially damaging consequences for the discipline and morale of the inmates of HMP Winchester the only appropriate sanction was to strike her name from the register.

Commenting on the panel's decision, NMC spokesperson Leila Harris said: "The standards in the NMC Code of Conduct are non-negotiable. As a registered nurse, Ms Pangeti had an obligation to act in such a way that justifies the trust and confidence that the public have in her and to act in such a way that upholds and enhances the good reputation of the profession. She did not maintain clear professional boundaries and has shown no insight into the consequences of her actions. Therefore, in order to protect the reputation of the nursing profession and safeguard the health and wellbeing of future patients, she will no longer be able to work as a nurse."

Notes

1. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the UK regulator for two professions, nursing and midwifery. The primary purpose of the NMC is protection of the public. It does this through maintaining a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses eligible to practise within the UK and by setting standards for their education, training and conduct. Currently the number of registrants exceeds 674,000. The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (The Order), sets out the NMC's role and responsibilities.

2. The independent panel is selected from a pool of individuals appointed by the Appointments Board. They come from a variety of backgrounds and are not NMC Council members, nor do they sit on any committee of the Council.

Nursing and Midwifery Council