A DISCIPLINARY panel has retired to consider whether they find allegations a nurse groped and insulted a co-worker proved.

If they find that Robert Phillips, a nurse at a mental health unit in Ebbw Vale, acted inappropriately he could be struck off the nursing register and banned from the profession.

The panel, from the Nursing and Midwifery Council, has been hearing the case since Monday.

Phillips allegedly touched the woman, referred to only as Miss A, inappropriately as he gave her an oil massage.

He is also said to have groped her against her will in a laundry room and arrived at her house uninvited after she phoned in sick because she had fallen down the stairs.

The tribunal also heard allegations that the former builder called her a “dirty stinking Gipsy” because the hem of her trousers was dragging, and a “druggie” because she frequently used a nasal inhaler.

The panel is expected to return a decision on Monday.

Phillips faces eight allegations of misconduct between late 2009/early 2010 and February 2013.

The tribunal earlier heard he was sacked after the allegations came to light, but was given a job at his sister’s care home within the same month.

Proceeding.