A Wellington nurse had his registration cancelled after facing the New Zealand Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal following two indecent assaults he inflicted on a colleague.
The decision was released today following the hearing in February with David Savage, 43, ordered to pay $4400 in costs, the NZ Herald reports.
In 2017, Savage was sentenced to six months community detention and 150 hours of community work after being convicted on two counts of indecent assault against a colleague.
Savage was working a night shift along with a female colleague when he made inappropriate sexual comments, sentencing notes from court said.
In the hospital pharmacy Savage "grabbed his colleague's left breast over her clothing and squeezed while placing his left hand on her back, asking her for a quickie, and made other inappropriate sexual suggestions to her."
Later, Savage assaulted the same colleague again in a different part of the hospital.
"Mr Savage grabbed the colleague on the bottom, rubbed the inside of her thigh and then between her legs at the genital area; and made inappropriate comments to her as he was doing so.
"It was clear from the evidence heard at trial that black humour, sexual innuendo and comment were part of the working environment, often used to relieve stress and lighten the load in a difficult and stressful working environment," the sentencing notes also said.
The tribunal found "the convictions entered against Mr Savage on which the charge is based are qualifying convictions that reflect adversely on his fitness to practise as a nurse".
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