A former ward manager at a specialist South London hospital has been struck off the nursing register after repeatedly sending inappropriate and sexually motivated WhatsApp messages to junior colleagues — and failing over two years to show any remorse or engage with regulators.
Leonajar Bato Pulido, who worked at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Putney, was found by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to have breached professional boundaries and misused confidential information in 2019, while in a position of authority over two newly arrived nurses.
In a final review hearing on 6 May 2025, the NMC’s Fitness to Practise panel concluded [pdf] that Mr Pulido’s continued lack of insight and failure to engage with previous hearings meant that nothing short of a striking-off order would protect the public and uphold confidence in the profession. The sanction came into force on Sunday.
The misconduct took place over several months in 2019 while Mr Pulido was working as a ward manager. He was found to have sent unsolicited personal messages to two nurses, referred to as Nurse A and Nurse B, shortly after their arrival at the hospital. Messages included flirtatious and persistent personal comments, including one on 11 November 2019 that read:
“Hi Amor. It was nice to catch you in the kitchen. I won’t lie I go there to get a glimpse of you.”
A separate charge also found he had sent Nurse A confidential HR details about new recruits — information he had no authority to share.
Suspended previously
The NMC first suspended Mr Pulido from the register in May 2023 for nine months after finding that the messages, particularly those sent to Nurse B, were “sexually motivated” and constituted serious professional misconduct. That order was reviewed and extended twice — in February and November 2024 — with panels giving him additional opportunities to demonstrate insight and undertake remedial action.
But across all three reviews, Mr Pulido failed to submit evidence of reflective work, undertake further training, or provide testimonials. Although he previously claimed he had taken two professional boundaries courses and had been trying to help the nurses settle in, the panel noted he had “not accepted responsibility for the seriousness of his misconduct.”
In its latest ruling, the panel found no material change in circumstances and no evidence of strengthened professional practice. It concluded that Mr Pulido remained liable to repeat the behaviour and posed an ongoing risk to colleagues.
“This panel determined that Mr Pulido remains likely to repeat matters of the kind found proved. There is no evidence that Mr Pulido has obtained greater insight, has strengthened his practice in any way, or has accepted responsibility for the seriousness of his misconduct.”
The panel explicitly ruled out imposing conditions on his practice, saying his failings were attitudinal rather than clinical and that further suspension would serve no useful purpose. “The previous reviewing panel had given Mr Pulido a final opportunity to engage and address his misconduct, which he had failed to take,” it said.
A rare event but not unprecedented
The striking-off of Mr Pulido is a rare but serious regulatory outcome within the UK’s vast nursing profession. With more than 778,000 registered nurses nationwide, only a small proportion face formal misconduct proceedings.
In May 2025, the NMC held approximately 370 fitness-to-practise hearings, yet just around 20 nurses were struck off the register. These cases represent the most severe breaches of professional standards—typically involving serious risk to public safety or sustained refusal to engage with the regulator.
The previous month, a senior emergency department nurse at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, Mark Barry, received a 12‑month suspension after a Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness-to-practise panel found his conduct fell “significantly short” of acceptable clinical standards.
Over the period from 2016 to 2021, the panel highlighted a concerning pattern: the nurse frequently finished shifts early, leaving the department understaffed; mismanaged basic patient care (including wound suturing and failure to request X‑rays); and neglected infection control measures like hand hygiene.
The panel concluded that patients suffered “physical and emotional harm” and that no evidence of insight or remediation was presented. Consequently, Barry was suspended for 12 months, with the possibility of review at the end of the term.
At the time, the hospital told Putney.news it has carried out an internal investigation and referred Barry to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, resulting in him being suspended. It also said it had taken steps to prevent the situation from happening again – although it continues to refuse to provide any details of those changes or its internal review despite repeat requests.
In this more recent case at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, Mr Pulido did not attend the hearing and has not worked there since the events occurred. The hospital, an independent medical charity specialising in neuro-disability care, is not implicated in the misconduct.
The NMC panel concluded: “The only sanction that would adequately protect the public and serve the public interest was a striking-off order.”
The case of Leonajar Pulido was first reported by Local Democracy Reporter Charlotte Lillywhite.
