Nurse who used vomit emojis on LGBT pride Facebook post avoids suspension

A nurse who commented with emojis of a vomiting face on an LGBTQ+ pride Facebook post has avoided being suspended.

George Eduard Stae told a misconduct hearing he was a ‘keyboard warrior’ and would ‘lash out’ online because of his ‘personal situation’.

In an informal meeting with the trust he worked at – Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust – after he made the comment, Mr Stae told bosses he found the Facebook advert, which included a picture of a man wearing high-heeled shoes and head jewellery, ‘disturbing’.

He told his misconduct hearing he commented 10 emojis, of vomiting and nauseating faces, on the post on International Children’s Day, June 1, in 2021.

He said this was because he saw the Facebook logo had been changed to a Pride logo, and ‘he did not like how Pride appeared to have taken over Facebook on International Children’s Day’.

It was also alleged that Mr Stae told a doctor ‘I will kill you’ and called him a ‘f****** Muslim’ in an incident on November 27, 2022.

However, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) withdrew the charges after the panel ruled hearsay evidence from the doctor was not admissible.

The panel found Mr Stae’s Facebook comment was ‘prejudicial and discriminatory’ towards people based on their sexuality and/or gender identity, and ruled the registered nurse had committed misconduct.

Mr Stae told the panel he realised his comment was ‘completely wrong and inappropriate’.

He said: ‘It was brought to my attention at work and I was very ashamed of my behavior, especially because I have many friends and colleagues that have a different sexual orientation than me and I never had an issue with that.’

While Samprada Mukhia, for the NMC, argued Mr Stae should be suspended for six months, the panel said a suspension order would be ‘wholly disproportionate’.

Mr Stae was made the subject of a 12-month caution order in a ruling on Friday, meaning his sanction will be recorded on the register for the committee to ‘mark that what happened was unacceptable and must not happen again’.