Prison nurse struck off for helping inmates carry out a phone-smuggling racket
A prison nurse who helped inmates carry out a phone-smuggling racket has been struck off the nursing register.
Kimberly Finn, 33, from Boldon, was an agency nurse at HMP Durham when she agreed to pass a package to an inmate during a consultation so he could give it to another prisoner.
A court case was heard in January 2025, while her future in nursing has now been decided by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
A panel from the Council, which acts as the independent regulator for nurses, found that Finn’s fitness to practise is currently impaired as a result of the conviction.
A report from the meeting of the Council says: “Nurses occupy a position of privilege and trust in society and are expected at all times to be professional. Patients and their families must be able to trust nurses with their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
“Nurses must make sure that their conduct at all times justifies both their patients’ and the public’s trust in the profession.”
Newcastle Crown court heard the illegal deal was exposed when a cell search was carried out at HMP Northumberland and staff found a phone containing damning conversations about drugs and contraband being taken into and transferred between prisons.
The court was told the search was conducted in August 2022 and staff found a Samsung phone, hidden inside a speaker in a cell at HMP Northumberland, which contained a large volume of messages as well as WhatsApp, Snapchat and TikTok accounts.
It was udnerstood the inmate owner of the phone had previously been at school with Finn.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council panel determined that Finn’s actions and subsequent conviction breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and brought its reputation into disrepute.
As a result of this, the panel decided to make a striking-off order. This means removing the Finn’s name from the Register, which prevents them from working as a registered nurse, midwife or nursing associate.
Finn admitted conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison in court and washanded a nine month jail term, suspended for 18 months, with rehabilitation requirements.