Jailed nurse who assaulted elderly woman struck off

A jailed former NHS nurse who said he got "carried away" when he sexually assaulted an 85-year-old woman in his care has been formally struck off.

Steven Hicks, from Bracknell in Berkshire, arrived unannounced at the woman's home in January 2022, wearing a surgical mask, plastic apron and gloves, Reading Crown Court was told last year.

Jailed for four-and-a-half years for one count of sexual assault in January 2024, Hicks will remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely and is banned from working with children and vulnerable adults.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel found that Hicks "continues to deny the facts of the case" and that he had showed "no remorse or insight".

The former Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust employee previously looked after the woman, first meeting her in December 2021 for a nursing assessment after she had a fall.

But during an unscheduled visit, he arrived wearing a surgical mask, plastic apron and gloves, and was invited in, the court heard.

Hicks assaulted the woman before she pushed him away, prosecutor William Eaglestone said.

The woman lived alone and was receiving carer visits after she sustained a broken shoulder, the NMC said.

He was arrested after a DNA swab he had voluntarily given matched with DNA found on his victim.

He was arrested in September 2022 and then released on bail and suspended by the NHS trust the same month.

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