Nurse struck off to protect public

Mr Clegg admitted forming the relationships

A male nurse at a Manchester hospital has been struck off for having sex with a patient and forming relationships with three others.

The patients on Wythenshawe Hospital's adult cystic fibrosis ward were described as "chronically unwell, vulnerable and complex".

Stephen Clegg, 42, from Lancashire, had denied misconduct at a hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

But he was found guilty on three counts and banned from practising in the UK.

Mr Clegg has seriously overstepped the bounds and has compromised his ability to provide care

Liz McAnulty, NMC

Liz McAnulty, the NMC's director of professional conduct, said he was being stuck off "to protect the public".

Mr Clegg, of Clayton, near Accrington, Lancashire, admitted having sex with one patient and being the "boyfriend" of another patient for three months.

He said the relationships developed in 1998 and 1999.

Senior ward sister Ann Bowling said the patients were "chronically unwell, vulnerable and complex"

And she said his actions amounted to "unprofessional behaviour".

Ms Bowling said she had "never come across anything like this in all my years of nursing".

Liz McAnulty, the NMC's director of professional conduct, said: "While care and compassion are part of the nurse-patient relationship, Mr Clegg has seriously overstepped the bounds and has compromised his ability to provide care for these and other patients.

"He has been removed from the register to protect the public."