NHS therapist who despatched ‘Wanna bang’ to affected person avoids being struck off

A married NHS therapist who pestered a susceptible affected person for intercourse with flirty messages and requested him: ‘Wanna bang?’ has prevented being struck off the medical register.

Alicia Hing despatched sexually-motivated texts to a person who had suffered life-changing spinal accidents, and informed him he wouldn’t obtain nude pictures of her until he ‘displayed enthusiasm’.

Hing crossed ‘skilled boundaries’ whereas working at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire, a disciplinary listening to was informed.

She was handed a 12-month warning by the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) for breaching ‘elementary tenets of the occupation’.

The listening to was informed that the affected person was admitted to the hospital’s National Spinal Injury Centre in November 2018, with Hing appointed as his occupational therapist.

In December 2018, she despatched him a buddy request on Facebook adopted two days later with a message containing her private cellphone quantity.

In WhatsApp texts despatched on a number of days over a interval of practically 4 weeks, the part-time burlesque dancer despatched pictures of herself in her gymnasium garments and a flurry of flirty texts.

During one alternate, Hing informed her affected person he wouldn’t get bare footage of her until he displayed enthusiasm.

The affected person replied: ‘I’m confused’ and was informed by Hing: ‘It’s okay. Just having a ethical and moral dilemma.’

He responded: ‘Well I’ll make it a bit simpler and say maintain off on them for now.’

In January 2019, Hing despatched messages discussing the relationship app, Tinder, earlier than then asking: ‘Wanna bang?’.

The affected person replied ‘No’ in Russian, earlier than asking: ‘Where would we even do it?’

Hing responded: ‘Don’t know. Don’t care. Just want one thing. Anything.’

Patient A replied: ‘I’m certain you are actually wanting it however I’m not the particular person.

‘I am unable to soar into intercourse like I used to.’

Four hours later, Hing messaged the affected person: ‘By the way in which, I meant something similar to… I miss cuddles and having my hand-held. Just miss that human contact.’

Hing, who was employed by Buckingham Healthcare NHS Trust, moved to the hospital’s intensive care unit in January 2019.

While working in intensive care she mentioned her work with Patient A.

In a vile textual content message to him she known as a bilateral amputee she was working with ‘revolting’ and a ‘human blob’.

She wrote: ‘I noticed a morbidly overweight bilateral amputee with a grade 4 sacral sore… plus numerous different sores in his fats folds.

‘He was actually like a human blob…I felt actually dangerous however OMG. It took 4 of us to roll him, and he was simply…revolting.. He had stumps for knees..’

In September 2019, throughout an appointment with the outpatient service on the hospital, Patient A disclosed to a psychologist that he had been despatched undesirable messages which included sexual content material.

He handed over WhatsApp messages through which Hing had informed him: ‘I really feel like such a nasty human being, as a result of I ought to positively not fancy my sufferers.

She added: ‘Genuinely really feel dangerous trigger I do know you clearly simply have a flirty character! I should not assume something of it, however I do kinda fancy you.’

Another message learn: ‘Make it sound like I’m doing one thing seedy. Like texting a affected person who’s in mattress a number of yards from me. Especially one I’d positively need to flirt with if I wasn’t their therapist.’

In proof to the HCPTS, Patient A stated: ‘I stated she had not seen my new haircut as she had been too busy in ICU. She responded with “wanna bang?” … I understood this to imply that she was asking if I needed to have intercourse along with her.

‘I ignored it and made a remark about making a brand new Tinder account for myself.

‘Alicia…responded to say that I had not answered her query.’

He informed the tribunal that when Hing requested to have intercourse with him he replied ‘HeT’, which implies no in Russian as a result of each he and the therapist had beforehand mentioned figuring out a number of phrases in Russian.

He went on: ‘I requested the place we might even do it. She stated she didn’t know or care however simply wanted one thing. I informed her that I used to be certain she actually needed it however I used to be not the particular person.’

Hing, who obtained married in June this yr, was suspended from the hospital in November 2019 and resigned earlier than disciplinary proceedings completed.

She despatched a textual content to her former affected person a message in July 2020 through which she stated he had ‘utterly and totally destroyed not solely my profession, however my life too.’

Hing denied that her messages have been looking for discovering sexual gratification however as a substitute to hunt ‘validation’.

She stated in her proof to the HCPTS panel: ‘I simply needed somebody to inform me that I deserved these issues. I wasn’t making an attempt to acquire them from anyone.’

Hing added: ‘This case was of misplaced friendship, help and pleasant, reciprocated “banter”, the identical manner I’d talk with any of my buddies.

‘However, studying again I can fully see how this may be misinterpreted, and why Patient A could have felt that my actions, feedback and dialog have been sexually motivated, and I can solely lengthen my most honest apologies for this.’

She added: ‘Patient A was susceptible, and I took benefit of that for my very own private acquire (to hunt consolation and help in a time of poor psychological well being).

‘Something that I now see was extremely misplaced and I’m deeply regretful for. I hope that regardless of this, Patient A’s rehabilitation journey was profitable, and there was not a unfavourable influence on him and that he continues to stay a cheerful, wholesome and affluent life within the wake of his spinal wire damage.’

Hing stated she was ‘fairly disgusted’ at her remark calling an amputee ‘revolting’ and a ‘human weblog’.

She stated: ‘[Patient A] was asking about ITU, it was my early days of ITU, I had seen some fairly distressing issues.

‘That was kind of my manner of dealing with coping with that new surroundings. It was utterly unprofessional, not one thing I had ever finished earlier than, you realize, or would ever do once more, and really studying that again, I’m fairly disgusted at what I stated as a result of that is not what I meant.

‘I would not imply that about any individual. I’m really fairly horrified that I stated that, however as I stated, I used to be in a troublesome place. It was my manner of coping.’

The HCPTS panel discovered Hing had dedicated misconduct and introduced the occupation into disrepute. It dominated that among the messages despatched by Hing have been sexually motivated acts ‘in direction of a susceptible affected person who had suffered life-changing accidents’.

She was spared a extra extreme sanction – together with being struck off – after expressing ‘deep regret’.

The tribunal concluded: ‘[Hing] engaged in sexually motivated conduct in direction of Patient A (albeit not in pursuit of a sexual relationship) on a number of days over a interval of practically 4 weeks. He was a susceptible affected person in her care.

‘She additionally shared private info of a distressing nature that left Patient A sense anxious, burdened and anxious.

‘[Hing] subsequently contacted Patient A and blamed him for having made a wholly correct grievance in regards to the Registrant’s conduct.

‘By participating on this behaviour, [Hing] breached elementary tenets of the occupation and has introduced the occupation into disrepute.’ 

Stoke Mandeville hospital was the place paedophile DJ Jimmy Savile attacked NHS sufferers.