I MUST respond to two articles profiled in the Echo Friday, February 3, 2017 and Saturday, February 11, 2017.

The first article related to a member of our staff who was rightly convicted for a gross breach of trust and serious sexual assault. It was Dorset HealthCare that reported Andrew Harvey to the police.

The language and sentiment expressed by a small number of your readers is disturbing.

They diminish the crime, condone sexual exploitation, and use pejorative language about people with mental illness.

For any member of staff to have sex with someone who is a patient is not just morally wrong, it is a specific criminal offence: it is abuse.

One in four of us will be mentally ill some time in our lives. When a woman is admitted to hospital they are very unwell and vulnerable. It is our duty to protect and care for them and to support their recovery.

One in four people means it can be any of our mothers, sisters, daughters, or wives. We should all be appalled by this gross breach of trust which is reflected in the prison sentence.

The second incident involving Daniel Simpson is completely separate and relates to a very serious assault that took place outside of work.

In a personal capacity, a work colleague of Simpson has given a character reference for him. That is not the response of Dorset HealthCare as an employer.

Now that the facts are clear, the Trust has initiated formal disciplinary proceedings which will consider the impact of the behaviour for which Simpson was convicted in the context of his employment.

Our first priority is the wellbeing of people in our care, and anyone working for us has to display behaviour out of work that does not damage the reputation of our staff, or put patients at risk. We treat such matters most seriously.

RON SHIELDS

Chief Executive, Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, Nuffield Road, Poole

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