A woman nurse at a mental health centre in Britain has been sacked after she had sex with a patient in her care and then sent him text messages saying "I miss you" and "I love you".
Deborah Boulton met a male patient and gave him her mobile phone number, the Daily Mail reported.
A tribunal ruled that the nurse's actions fell "seriously short of the conduct and standards expected of a nurse".
She met the man at a centre in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, in 2009. The woman allegedly also bought the patient alcohol on two occasions.
A Nursing and Midwifery Council heard that during their relationship, the pair had sex around five times -- once in a hotel, once in the man's mother's house and three times in Boulton's house.
The patient claimed when he tried to end the relationship, Boulton bombarded him with calls and texts until he destroyed his mobile phone to avoid contact with her.
The patient told a counsellor that he suffered a relapse because of the relationship, the hearing was told.
Boulton had denied the allegations.
Published 18 September 2012, 16:30 IST