A nurse in south London has been struck from the register after sending a colleague "sexually motivated" messages on WhatsApp.
Leonajar Bato Pulido was already suspended after being found to have breached professional boundaries in respect of two nurses while a ward manager at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, an independent charity in Putney, in 2019, where he no longer works.
A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) misconduct panel replaced Mr Pulido's suspension with a striking-off order after a hearing on May 6 - the third review of his suspension originally imposed in 2023.
The panel ruled, in a new report, that Mr Pulido's fitness to practise as a registered nurse remained impaired and the only sanction that would adequately protect the public was a striking-off order.
The original panel in May 2023 found Mr Pulido had breached professional boundaries by contacting a nurse, referred to as Nurse A, via WhatsApp on her personal phone on September 13 and 14, 2019. It said he then contacted her in a personal capacity between September 15 and November 22, 2019.
The panel also found Mr Pulido breached professional boundaries by contacting another nurse, known as Nurse B, on WhatsApp in a personal capacity between November 6 and November 22, 2019. It said his conduct in relation to this charge was "sexually motivated".
A text from Mr Pulido to the nurse on November 11, 2019, read: "Hi [Nurse B]. It was nice to catch you in the kitchen. I won't lie I go there to get a glimpse of you."
A further text on November 22, 2019, said: "You look busy today, its so hard to get you attention, take it easy." Another text on the same day read: "I heard your out tonight. Enjoy central London."
Mr Pulido told a previous hearing in February 2024 that he lived in the same accommodation as the nurses and contacted them to help them settle into their new surroundings. He said he was not trying to take advantage of them, but just having casual conversations with them.
He said he had undertaken two training courses on maintaining professional boundaries while he was still working to understand how he should have acted. He added he had always tried to maintain professional boundaries with colleagues and that this was just "banter". He told the panel he had learned from the incident and believed he was fit to practise.
But the panel on May 6 found Mr Pulido, who did not attend the hearing, had failed to engage with the requests of previous panels and had not shown "any remediation for his misconduct".
Ryan Hodgins, representing the NMC, argued Mr Pulido continued to risk bringing the profession into disrepute. He said he had not provided evidence of any insight, training or reflection on his behaviour, nor that he had completed any recommendations made by the previous panels.
The panel's ruling read: "Today's panel has received no evidence of change in Mr Pulido's fitness to practise or Mr Pulido's circumstances. There is no evidence that Mr Pulido has obtained greater insight, has strengthened his practice in any way, or has accepted responsibility for the seriousness of his misconduct. In light of this, this panel determined that Mr Pulido remains likely to repeat matters of the kind found proved."
It added: "The previous reviewing panel had given Mr Pulido a final opportunity to engage and address his misconduct, which he had failed to take. This panel was mindful of the need to uphold confidence in the regulator and concluded that the only sanction that would adequately protect the public and serve the public interest was a striking-off order."
