Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing

Suspended from practice — 6 months

The regulator’s term: suspension

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 James Campbell Murray, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 99J0144S).

Decision date: 4 March 2026 · Hearing started 1 December 2025 and ended 4 March 2026

In plain English

The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that registered nurse James Campbell Murray had committed serious misconduct on 22 July 2022 at NHS Fife by shouting and swearing at a senior colleague and engaging in a sexualised conversation about children in a clinical setting. The panel found his fitness to practise was impaired on public interest grounds and imposed a suspension order for six months, with a review hearing at the end of that period. No interim order was imposed.

Charges

Charges concerned conduct on 22 July 2022 while employed as a registered nurse at NHS Fife (St Andrews Community Hospital). Charge 1: shouting at Colleague A on the ward, swearing at her including saying 'What's the fucking point' and 'So why not fucking say that', and sticking two fingers up at her. Charge 2: making inappropriate comments about Colleague A to Colleague B using offensive language. Charge 3: that the actions in charges 1 and 2 were intended to bully, intimidate or undermine Colleague A. Charge 4: engaging in a conversation about sexual tendencies and children, saying 'if they can bleed, they can breed' or words to that effect.

Findings

Charges 1, 2 and 4 were found proved by Mr Murray's admission. Charge 3 was not proved as the panel was not satisfied that the NMC had established the requisite intention to bully, intimidate or undermine Colleague A. The panel determined that the matters found proved amounted to serious misconduct. It found Mr Murray's fitness to practise was currently impaired on public interest grounds (not on public protection grounds), as a fully informed member of the public would be significantly shocked and concerned, particularly by the sexualised conversation involving children.

Mitigating factors

Admitted the charges at the outset of the hearing and accepted they amounted to misconduct; expressions of remorse and apologies; the fact that the incidents occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic; reflective pieces indicating developing insight; completion of some relevant training; over 20 years of unblemished practice prior to the incidents and three years of subsequent safe practice.

Aggravating factors

Senior nurse on duty in a position of leadership expected to act as a role model for colleagues; failure to respond to earlier reprimand and feedback from a senior colleague in relation to inappropriate behaviour towards colleagues on the same day; several incidents of misconduct on the same day, culminating in sexualised language about children, engaging safeguarding sensitivities and representing a serious breach of professional boundaries; use of inappropriate language in a clinical setting in the presence of staff and potentially within earshot of patients; despite the significant passage of time, in relation to charge 4 specifically, his insight remained incomplete and he demonstrated some unwillingness to accept full responsibility.

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.