NSW Nurse Banned After Years-Long Relationship With Vulnerable Patient

A former NSW nurse has been disqualified from practice for two years after the state’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) found she engaged in a prolonged intimate relationship with a vulnerable mental health patient under her care.

The tribunal ruled that Dilnoor Kang, a registered nurse at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, breached professional boundaries repeatedly between 2021 and 2024. The Healthcare Complaints Commission outlined that Kang hugged, kissed, and maintained a romantic relationship with the patient, who was several years younger than her, over a three-year period.

The patient had been admitted to the hospital’s Mental Health Inpatient Unit (MHIPU) four times in early 2021, with Kang directly involved in his care. Just two days after his discharge in May 2021, Kang took him to an escape room in Canberra. Evidence presented to the tribunal revealed that in 2022 she kissed him on the lips while parked outside her home.

Between 2022 and 2023, the pair exchanged thousands of messages and calls, highlighting the ongoing nature of the relationship. In early 2024, police were called to Kang’s home after the patient accused her of cheating. During the 3am visit, Kang told officers the man was her boyfriend and that they had been together for six months.

The tribunal also heard evidence of inappropriate interactions inside the hospital itself. In December 2022, when the patient was admitted with acute psychosis, Kang attended the ward and asked to see him alone, further breaching professional standards.

NCAT found Kang guilty of professional misconduct, ruling that her actions represented a serious betrayal of trust and a failure to maintain the boundaries required in nurse-patient relationships. She has been disqualified from nursing for two years, after which she would need to reapply if she wished to return to the profession.