A specialist practitioner working for North West Ambulance Service Trust who was convicted of possessing hundreds of indecent images of children has been struck off the nurses register.

In June 2021, Neil Rankin, 39, was convicted of three counts of possessing indecent images of children and sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, 50 days of rehabilitation work and subjected to an electronically monitored curfew for three months.

Following his conviction, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) held a fitness to practice meeting at the beginning of this month, where it was decided that Rankin, of Fife Street, Lancaster, should be struck-off the nurses register.

The panel was told that on July 14, 2020, the NMC received a referral from North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, raising concerns about Mr Rankin.

At the time, Mr Rankin was working as a registered nurse and specialist practitioner at the trust.

Following an investigation by police in July 2020, four electronic devices were seized from Mr Rankin’s home, and he was subsequently charged with three offences and was sentenced at Preston Crown Court on June 23, 2021.

A report from the fitness to practice meeting stated Mr Rankin possessed “no insight in relation to the impact his actions had on those directly involved, as well as the public”.

It also stated his offending was “not an isolated incident and demonstrated a clear pattern of behaviour”.

Despite the panel taking into account the fact Mr Rankin admitted to the concerns and asked for voluntary removal from the register, it was determined the serious nature of the conviction brought the nursing profession into disrepute, and he should therefore not be permitted to return to nursing practice.

It was also noted his behaviour “demonstrated a deep-seated attitudinal problem that is not easily remediable”.

A report from the meeting stated: “The NMC submitted a striking-off order would be the most appropriate sanction in this case.

“The behaviour that led to the conviction was a significant departure from the standards expected of a registered nurse, and it breached fundamental tenets of the profession.

“The NMC submitted that Mr Rankin’s conviction is fundamentally incompatible with him remaining on the register.

“The findings in this particular case are such that to allow the registrant to return to practise would undermine public confidence in the profession and in the NMC as a regulatory body.

“The position of the NMC is that nothing short of a striking off order would be sufficient or proportionate in this case.

“Such an order is necessary for the protection of the public and to mark the importance of maintaining public confidence in the profession.

“It will also send to the public and the profession a clear message about the standard of behaviour required of a registered nurse.”

An interim suspension order of 18 months has been put in place to give Mr Rankin the chance to appeal the panel’s decision to strike him from the nurses register.

He has 28 days from the date of his sanction to appeal.