Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing

Struck off the register

The regulator’s term: erasure

What does “struck off the register” mean?

Being struck off (the regulator calls this "erasure") removes the practitioner from the register. They are no longer permitted to practise this profession in the UK. Erasure can be reviewed after a minimum of five years, but is otherwise indefinite.

Concerning Kate Sullivan, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 16G0174W).

Decision date: 10 April 2026 · Hearing started 5 January 2026 and ended 10 April 2026

In plain English

The NMC found that Kate Sullivan, a registered mental health nurse, had an undeclared sexual relationship with a colleague, had sexual intercourse with him in the workplace, breached professional boundaries with a vulnerable patient, refused to provide care to a patient, did not report serious incidents, manipulated staffing to spend time with the colleague, and was unprofessional toward other colleagues. The panel decided her fitness to practise is impaired and ordered her name to be struck off the register.

Charges

That, while a registered mental health nurse on a low secure rehabilitation ward: (1) on or after October 2020 was in a personal relationship with a colleague and failed to disclose it to the employer; (2) engaged in sexual intercourse with the colleague in the workplace on three specified dates in 2021 and 2022; (3) on more than one occasion breached professional boundaries with Patient B; (4) on 22 March 2022 left the ward with the colleague to take Patient B for bloods, leaving insufficient male staffing and without managerial support; (5) on 2 May 2022 refused to examine Patient A; (6) between 6 and 9 May 2022 refused tobacco or tobacco alternatives to Patient A; (8) demonstrated poor leadership including manipulating the rota and going on breaks with the colleague; (9) failed to complete Datix reports for serious incidents involving patients sexually assaulting staff; (10) on multiple occasions behaved unprofessionally, including using offensive language about colleagues and breaching their confidentiality. Charge 7 was found not proved and charge 9d was withdrawn (NMC offered no evidence). By reason of the above, fitness to practise was alleged to be impaired by reason of misconduct.

Findings

The panel found facts proved on charges 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 5, 6, 8a, 8c, 8f, 9a, 9b, 9c, 10a, 10b, and 10d, and not proved on charges 7, 8b, 8d, 8e and 10c (the NMC offered no evidence on charge 9d). The panel found that the proved facts amounted to misconduct, comprising a serious and wide-ranging pattern of behaviour spanning clinical failures, boundary violations, leadership failings, and unprofessional conduct toward colleagues. The panel determined that her fitness to practise is currently impaired on grounds of both public protection and public interest, finding deep-seated attitudinal concerns, very limited insight, and a real risk of repetition. Miss Sullivan did not attend the hearing or engage with the proceedings.

Mitigating factors

Previous good character and history (with private health-related context). The panel did not regard these matters as carrying material mitigating weight given the breadth and seriousness of the misconduct found proved.

Aggravating factors

Abuse of a position of trust; very limited insight into failings; a pattern of misconduct over a period of time; conduct which put vulnerable patients at risk of suffering harm; conduct which put colleagues at risk of harm; manipulated circumstances and staffing arrangements in order to pursue her own objectives.

Source

All facts on this page are drawn from the publicly published Nursing and Midwifery Council determination linked below.MedicWatchdoes not editorialise the regulator’s findings.

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