NHS nurse wins case after patient's unusual pregnancy claim led to years-long suspension

Jessica Thorpe worked at Ward Z (a secure mental-health unit) when a strange situation turned her life upside-down. Back in early-2020 one of her patients made an odd statement: he claimed she was carrying his child

The hospital management put her on leave right after Patient X made these claims; what was meant to be a short break turned into a super-long 29-month suspension. During the investigation there were some talks about possible boundary issues because the patient was doing well with her care; however no real proof of wrong-doing came up

The whole process got more complex after Patient X passed away‚ and the disciplinary meeting that happened in mid-21 didnt give clear answers. The trust kept Thorpe away from work until police finished looking into the patients death which made things even longer

During her time away from nursing Thorpe found a new path: she started posting food content online. Her instagram account “Slice of Jess“ got real big with 50k followers and her youtube channel brought in some good money (her earnings went from about 4k pounds to 19k in just two years)

Employment Judge Simon Loy looked at everything and said the trust was wrong: they kept her suspended way too long with no good reason. Even though Thorpe now makes money as an influencer the judge said that doesnt change how the hospital treated her wrong. Theyʼll have another meeting to decide how much money she should get