Andrew Prew was struck off the register by the Nursing and Midwifery Council after leaving colleagues at Medway NHS Foundation Trust in Kent intimidated, with one woman hiding in a linen closet to avoid him
An ex-nurse who sent a picture of himself wearing women’s underwear and fishnet stockings to a female colleague has been struck off.
Disgraced Andrew Prew also showed a co-worker explicit images of his girlfriend and cyberbullied a senior manager while working at a hospital in Kent. A panel heard a slew of disturbing details of “intimidating” Prew’s conduct while working for Medway NHS Foundation Trust, including “staring down” one frightened colleague.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council has now struck him off the register, finding his behaviour “fundamentally incompatible” with the profession. One woman, named only as Colleague One, had been on holiday in Amsterdam in December 2019 when Mr Prew sent her the photo of himself, the fitness to practice committee was told.
One of them showed him shirtless, while a second sent hours later depicted him in knickers and fishnet tights. The support worker had told him the pictures were “definitely inappropriate”, before he then tried to claim he’d sent them to the wrong person.
She reported the photos to another nurse at the hospital. It was heard how Mr Prew would then “regularly stare down” Colleague One while they were on shift together, to the point where staff would warn her he was coming. In one scenario, she was so distressed she even hid in a linen closet to avoid him.
On another occasion, Mr Prew had shown a co-worker photos of his girlfriend in her underwear. Details were also heard of abusive posts Mr Prew would make on social media, sending messages which celebrated the firing of a colleague he branded a “pervert”.
Mr Prew, who qualified in 1999 and had already retired from nursing ahead of the hearing, was found to have been “offensive, intimidating, malicious and insulting”, with his actions “negatively impacting” colleagues and endangering patient safety. The panel said: “Mr Prew’s behaviour towards colleagues was serious because it was offensive, intimidating, malicious and insulting and could have negatively impacted on colleagues providing care, putting patient safety at risk.
“The panel considered that Mr Prew had demonstrated a pattern of behaviour on social media and in person which created an intimidating, hostile and offensive working environment for his colleagues. He used discriminatory behaviour and breached professional boundaries.
“This behaviour can negatively impact on the culture and environment in which care is delivered which may result in poor practices. Mr Prew’s actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse, and are fundamentally incompatible with him remaining on the register.”
