Nurse Accused Of ‘Baring Her Breasts And Performing Sex Acts On A Patient’ Says She Was Only Giving ‘Emotional Support’

Julie Porthouse, a community psychiatric nurse working for the Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation, has been accused of exposing her breasts and performing oral sex on one of her patients. The alleged affair is believed to have taken place between May 2012 and September 2012, however Porthouse denies these accusations. She does concede that she had “excessive contact” with the patient, though she justifies this by explaining “she wanted to provide him with enough support after the loss of his father.”

She said: “I did muddy the water with boundaries, I do agree. I can’t sit here and say that I didn’t because I did.”

The nurse explained she wanted to “empower” the patient.

Rebecca Richardson, for the NMC [Nursing and Midwifery Council], asked: “Did that empowerment extend to wanting to make him feel attractive?”

Porthouse replied: “No, our relationship was never on a sexual level.”

Asked about a visit she made to the patient’s home Ms Richardson continued: “He was tense and you were going to help him relax. This was in the context of ongoing discussion about attraction.

“This progressed to the bedroom.

“This went further, you masturbated him and gave him oral sex. You also exposed your breasts and that’s how he became aware that you had a tattoo on your lower back.

“That’s also how you left an earring, that’s how it came to be in his bedroom.”

Porthouse said: “That’s not true.”(via)

As for how the relationship was discovered, The Sun reports that Porthouse was eventually confronted by staff, who asked her point blank if she was having an affair with the unnamed patient.

The hearing is still ongoing.

[H/T The Sun]