Male Nurse Causes Pregnancy in Psychiatric Patient

From the Daily Record

A [male] nurse who made a former heroin addict patient pregnant was struck off yesterday.

James Meehan, 46, became close to the woman, a childhood sex abuse victim 20 years his junior, when she was an inpatient, a disciplinary hearing was told.

And in November 2001, she told other staff at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow that she was pregnant by him.

The committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council were told that before that she had been improving and was clear of opiate drugs.

But consultant psychiatrist Dr Alistair Wilson said her condition worsened after she had an abortion.

The woman, who had a history of self-harming and a personality disorder, was then readmitted as an inpatient.

Meehan, of Clydebank, said he started visiting Miss A at her home because he believed he could help her stay off drugs.

But she told him she wanted the relationship to go further and he finally gave in. Meehan, who had a long-term partner, said Miss A threatened to get him sacked when he tried to call off the affair .

He finally left her in September 2002 when she started taking heroin again.

The committee found Meehan guilty of misconduct and chairman Elizabeth Rush told him: "You abused your privileged relationship with a vulnerable patient who needed care and support.

"This in excusable behaviour led to the patient having to go through a termination of your child.

"You are not fit to practise as a nurse."