Footscray Hospital nurse banned after sex with patient

A “predatory” Footscray Hospital nurse and father of two lured a patient to his car for sex — and she wasn’t the only patient to catch his eye.

Efren Callos was working as an emergency department nurse at Footscray Hospital when he met his two victims, the tribunal heard. Picture: Ellen Smith

A creepy Melbourne nurse who lured a patient to his car for sex has been stripped of his right to practice.

Married father of two Efren Callos was working as a nurse in the emergency department at Footscray Hospital when he met his victim in February 2015, VCAT heard.

Callos watched as a hospital staff member escorted the woman to the smoker’s area and the pair struck up a conversation after the staffer left.

Callos exchanged numbers with the woman, and at his suggestion she met him when he finished work at 1.30am the next day. He then took her to his car in a nearby side street where they had sex.

For three months after the illicit rendezvous Callos bombarded the woman with 48 calls and 130 texts.

He also harassed an emergency department patient with unsolicited calls and texts a month earlier after copying her mobile number from her private medical records, the tribunal heard.

“(The first allegation) involved an extremely serious exploitation of the inherent power imbalance that existed between Mr Callos and (the patient),” the tribunal noted.

“Although allegation two is not as egregious, it represents part of a disturbing pattern of conduct by Mr Callos.”

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia submitted to the tribunal that Callos took advantage of vulnerable patients with his conduct and crossed professional boundaries.

It described his actions as “deliberate”, “opportunistic” and “predatory in nature” in relation to the first patient, and said public confidence in the nursing profession would be shaken if he was not handed a significant penalty.

But the tribunal knocked back the board’s suggestion Callos be disqualified for two years and 10 months, noting he’d expressed remorse and had not worked as a nurse since December 2016 after the matters came to light.

It also noted he’d received glowing references from colleagues who submitted he was a “man of good character who was passionate about nursing”.

“There is little doubt in our minds that the public confidence in the nursing profession would be shaken if Mr Callos’ conduct was not dealt with firmly,” the tribunal noted.

Callos’s registration was cancelled and he was disqualified from reapplying for registration until January 1 next year.