Alison was in the “care” of the NHS in Carlisle as an inpatient and outpatient for over a year. Unknown to us she was being groomed and taken advantage of by an older male nurse called Robert Scott-Buccleuch. As a result Alison endured a crisis pregnancy and on the 12th of August 1988, she had a hastily arranged abortion in Carlisle Hospital. Dr Singh, the Consultant Psychiatrist treating Alison, signed off the abortion that helped Scott-Buccleuch and the hospital cover up what had happened.

Already mentally ill and seriously conflicted, Alison emerged from the hospital in Carlisle more damaged and confused than when she had first been admitted.

On Friday, December 13th, 1991, around the anniversary of the expected birthdate of her aborted baby, a trigger point for people with pre-existing mental illness, Alison removed her coat, placed her handbag on the platform, and stepped in front a train at Rotherham Station. She had been used to gratify the desires of a man who cast her aside when things became complicated. She was ill-equipped to deal with the aftermath of what she had been through.

Alison was 21 when first committed to hospital. Deeply troubled and mentally ill, she found herself in a Victorian Style Asylum when Mental Health was taboo. While she was isolated and vulnerable Robert Scott-Buccleuch got close to her by professing to share her strong religious beliefs. Records show he was told what he was doing was wrong because Alison was so unwell – he continued regardless.

Having sex with mentally ill patients on hospital premises is an unlawful flagrant abuse of trust that flies in the face of all available guidance. No one can think it ok for NHS nurses to have sex with patients they are supposed to be caring for. For vulnerable patients to be the subject of nurse’s attentions is the stuff of nightmares; like fish in a barrel at the mercy of the unscrupulous. I often wonder where NHS managers were while staff were having sex on hospital premises with patients? What happened to the duty of care they had?

We buried Alison on a bitterly cold, dark, and unforgiving Christmas Eve. We could not see her body before the funeral, her injuries were so severe. When Alison stepped in front a train, the nurse who took advantage of her, the staff, and managers who turned a blind eye, all had their hands on her shoulders guiding her into its path. There are reasons for the boundaries that exist in healthcare. The consequences of crossing them can be disastrous and the impact on those left behind lasts a lifetime.

So what happened next?