Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing
NMC panel suspends nurse Edward Lopez for six months over sexual harassment of colleague
The Nursing and Midwifery Council's Fitness to Practise Committee has suspended nurse Edward Allen Lopez for six months after finding he grabbed a junior colleague's genitals at work in conduct it ruled was sexual in nature and amounted to harassment.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 24 July 2026 · Updated 29 July 2026
Suspension (suspended from practice) — 6 months
Added to MedicWatch: 29 July 2026Report a correction
What does “suspended from practice” mean?
A suspension is a fixed-term pause on the right to practise. The practitioner cannot work in the regulated profession during the suspension. At the end of the period the suspension may be extended, replaced with another sanction, or lifted on review.
Concerning Edward Allen Lopez, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 99I1438O).
Decision date: 24 July 2026 · Hearing started 23 July 2026 and ended 24 July 2026
In plain English
The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that Edward Allen Lopez's fitness to practise was impaired by reason of misconduct. The panel found he grabbed a junior colleague's genitals in a hospital stairwell in September 2024, that the conduct was sexual in nature and amounted to harassment, but was not in pursuit of sexual gratification. Noting his admissions, apology and 25-year career without previous concerns, the panel imposed a six-month suspension order with a review, and an interim suspension order for 18 months.
Charges
That the registrant, a registered nurse: (1) on 20 September 2024 behaved in an inappropriate manner in that he grabbed Colleague A's penis and/or testicles with his hand; (2) that his conduct at charge 1 was sexual in nature and/or in pursuit of sexual gratification; and (3) that his conduct at charge 1 amounted to harassment of Colleague A in that (a) it was unwanted and (b) it had the purpose or effect of violating Colleague A's dignity and/or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for Colleague A. And in light of the above, that his fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct.
Findings
The panel found charges 1, 2, 3a and 3b proved. Charge 2 was found proved in relation to the conduct being of a sexual nature only; the panel found insufficient evidence that Mr Lopez acted in pursuit of sexual gratification. Mr Lopez admitted charges 1 and 3a and denied charges 2 and 3b, describing the incident as an act of banter. Colleague A, a Health Care Support Worker, did not provide a witness statement, and the case rested primarily on contemporaneous documentary and Facebook Messenger evidence together with Mr Lopez's own admissions. The panel determined the conduct amounted to serious professional misconduct and breached Code standards 20, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.5 and 20.8. It found fitness to practise currently impaired on public protection and public interest grounds, concluding that limbs b and c of the Grant test were engaged but not limbs a or d, that insight remained developing and incomplete, and that a limited risk of repetition remained. The panel imposed a suspension order for 6 months with a review, and an interim suspension order for 18 months to cover the appeal period.
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Mitigating factors
The panel took into account the following mitigating features: admission of some of the facts to the Trust and the NMC; apologised to Colleague A and other colleagues; no patient harm; a relevant training course had been conducted; and this was an isolated incident.
Aggravating factors
The panel took into account the following aggravating features: Mr Lopez was in a considerably more senior position to Colleague A; limited insight; and lack of sufficient remediation.
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.
Spot something incorrect?
If a fact on this page is wrong, or you believe the page should not be published, please submit a correction or takedown request.