Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing
NMC panel issues one-year caution to nurse Onorio Gelacio for imitating colleague's limp
The Nursing and Midwifery Council has imposed a one-year caution order on nurse Onorio Gelacio after a panel found he imitated a colleague's disability-related limp and a care home resident's gait. Allegations of sexually motivated conduct were found not proved.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 29 April 2026 · Updated 11 July 2026
Warning (formally warned) — 1 year
Added to MedicWatch: 11 July 2026Report a correction
What does “formally warned” mean?
A formal warning is a note on the practitioner's record. It does not restrict practice but tells the public that the regulator considered the conduct to have fallen below expected standards.
Concerning Onorio Gelacio, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 05C0594O).
Decision date: 29 April 2026 · Hearing started 10 June 2025 and ended 29 April 2026
In plain English
The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that Onorio Gelacio imitated a colleague's disability-related limp, a care home resident's distinctive gait, and a colleague's fall, and that this amounted to misconduct. Allegations of sexually motivated conduct were found not proved. The panel found his fitness to practise impaired on public interest grounds only and imposed a one-year caution order.
Charges
Charges arose from his time as a registered nurse at Oakcroft House Care Home. Found proved (to the extent of admissions): pulling a pen from Person A's cleavage on one occasion (1a); imitating Person A's limp and the limp of another colleague (2a); imitating Resident B's distinctive gait on one occasion (3); imitating Person A's fall and saying words to the effect 'oh no, I fell' (7a, 7b); touching Person A's bra strap on one occasion at her request (10); and that the conduct at 2a related to Person A's disability and had the effect of violating her dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment (13b, 13ci, 13cii). Charges alleging sexual motivation (12), kissing or grabbing colleagues (11a-c), showing explicit images (6a-b) and other allegations were found not proved.
Findings
The panel found that imitating a colleague's disability-related limp, imitating a resident's gait, and imitating a colleague's fall amounted to misconduct; the pen and bra strap incidents did not. It found no sexual motivation in any proved conduct. It found his fitness to practise impaired on public interest grounds only, having concluded the concerns had been remediated, the risk of repetition was very low, and no finding was needed on public protection grounds. It imposed a caution order for one year.
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Mitigating factors
Early admissions to the substance of the facts; apologies and expressions of remorse; efforts to prevent repetition demonstrated by his election by residents and colleagues as an Equality and Diversity Champion at his current workplace; relevant training undertaken, including professional boundaries, equality and diversity training; evidence that he has worked safely and professionally since the events causing concern; reflection and insight into the concerns identified.
Aggravating factors
A limited pattern of misconduct over an unknown period; the misconduct involved the imitation of the disability of persons with protected characteristics, including someone who had been a vulnerable patient.
Source
All facts on this page are drawn from the publicly published Nursing and Midwifery Council determination linked below. MedicWatch does not editorialise the regulator’s findings.
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