UK psych nurse, 52, had sexual relationship with 16-year-old patient

July 16, 2012

A nurse in her 50s has admitted having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old patient at a secure mental health unit.

Jeanette MacLeod had an illicit affair with the teenage boy at the NHS facility in the West Midlands where she had worked for five years.

Married MacLeod, who lives in Erdington, Birmingham, pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday to five counts of engaging in 'sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder by a care worker'.

She will be sentenced at the same court in early September.

The 52-year-old was accused of engaging in sexual activity with the teenage patient at the unit, run by Birmingham And Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Married MacLeod has been a registered nurse for 22 years and had worked at the unit for the past five years.

It is understood the case centred on allegations that she had sexual contact with the alleged victim while he was a patient.

The unit was opened in 2003 as one of only a small number of adolescent forensic units in Britain and houses some of the country’s most mentally disturbed teenagers, as well as mentally ill women.

When asked about the allegations before yesterday’s hearing, MacLeod had said: 'There’s two sides to every story. It wasn’t just me.'

MacLeod will be sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court the week beginning September 3

Frances Allcock, executive director for organisational development and performance improvement at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, declined to comment on the case.

She said: 'While the defendant has pleaded guilty, this case is still in progress and as such it would be inappropriate for us to comment further until after sentencing.'

Source: "Married nurse, 52, had sexual relationship with mentally-ill 16-year-old boy in secure unit," Daily Mail Reporter, July 11, 2012.