A mental health nurse has been suspended from practice and may face further actions following an intimate relationship and "sexual encounter" with a prison inmate.
The Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) said the nurse, who was based in a prison, had conducted more than 100 sessions with the inmate between October 2019 and September 2021, however evidence suggest their relationship became more personal in their final two months together.
According to an investigation report by Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell, a phone number listed under a pseudonym was approved by the prison for the inmate to use in July 2021.
In their phone conversations, the mystery person — later revealed to be the nurse — said at different points they were "early today", "finishing work early" or "working from home", which coincided with the nurse's schedule and clock-in/clock-out times.
The relationship first came to light after the inmate was found with contraband in 2021, and the prison's site emergency response team began to monitor his phone calls, including discussions with the nurse that were "sexually explicit".
The nurse and inmate were recorded on at least five occasions calling each other different nicknames, including "my darling", "my baby", "beautiful" and "gorgeous".
In late September 2021, prison video footage seen by a primary health organisation (PHO) and the HDC showed "inappropriate physical contact" between the nurse and inmate, who at one point left the interview room together and went to an area not completely visible to the camera for around 90 seconds.
The same day, after the video was reviewed by the prison manager and PHO manager, the nurse was addressed about the situation, did not respond to allegations and was escorted out of the prison with her belongings.
She officially resigned the next day, and three days after that sent an email to the inmate, writing "Be safe my darling and I hope I hear from you one day. If I don't, well I still wouldn't change a thing."
Caldwell said it was clear the nurse and inmate "had a personal and intimate relationship".
"The nurse's relationship with [the inmate] breaches fundamental ethical standards, given the power imbalance between clinician and patient," she wrote in a concluding statement.
"I do not consider that such a relationship being consensual alters this fact. This power imbalance will always mean there is the potential for abuse of the nurse's professional position and harm to the health consumer."
Caldwell commended the PHO for its prompt actions and implementation of a supervision policy after the fact, ultimately deciding that it did not break the Code (of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights) and that the nurse acted individually.
The nurse has since been suspended from practice and her name has been removed from the register of nurses.
Caldwell referred the nurse to the Director of Proceedings for "breaching professional boundaries" and has recommended the Nursing Council of New Zealand determine necessary conditions to be imposed, such as training and supervision, should she return to practice.
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