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| Nice hotel room illustration |
A female sex counselor was charged with sexual harassment related charges after she undressed and approached her female patient’s bed and asked for sex, according to proceedings in the United Kingdom.
The 70-year-old sex counselor took her patient to New York and paid for a luxury hotel where she got undressed in front of her, a disciplinary panel was told.
Over a period of 18 months, Trisha Birch lavished the woman with gifts, treated her to restaurants, gave her money and sent her inappropriate text messages.
Birch, who is a psychosexual counselor, also told the patient that she had never slept with a woman before while sitting naked on the edge of the bed, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.
The nurse was working for Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, when the alleged incident with the woman, known only as patient A, occurred.
She took her on vacation to New York, where the couple shared a hotel room, and she gave her $250 to spend.
During the trip, Patient A said she awoke at 4:00 am and saw Birch naked at the foot of the bed and she said: "Never slept with a woman".
David Clark, for the NMC, said that the patient refused to testify because she suffers from "nightmares" after the experience.
In a written statement, she said: "I would like to put things behind me."
Birch admitted to sending text messages to Patient A, giving her gifts, taking her to dinner, allowing her to visit her home, taking her on a trip to New York and providing her with approximately $250.
She denies the allegations that she was naked in front of the patient and denies making the comment about sleeping with a woman.
“What this old woman did to her patient is completely unacceptable. Instead of helping out those in need this psychotherapist made things a million times worse. She should not be allowed near another patient ever again,” Joyce Adams, 39, of Canterbury, United Kingdom told YourJewishNews.com after learning about the charges.
If found guilty of misconduct, the nurse could be struck off the register and prevented from working in the profession again.