A hospital worker has been jailed after she “fell in love” with a dangerous psychiatric patient.
Lydia-May Green, 30, engaged in sexual activity with the patient – who can not be named for legal reasons – during hotel stays over the summer of 2024.
The romance may have caused the patient “substantial psychological harm” and delayed his chances of being discharged, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Videos and photos on her phone showed nude images of the two in bed, hugging and kissing.
There were also recordings of the pair kissing in a car, Green carrying out oral sex on the patient, and him sucking her toes.
The psychiatric patient was first imprisoned for 10 years in November 2018 following a Section 18, wounding with intent matter.
He was then moved to a psychiatric facility in the summer of 2020 under the Mental Health Act.
Green began to work at the hospital where he was being treated in 2021 on a student placement, and she later became a qualified nurse in 2024.
Bristol Crown Court heard Green had caused the patient ‘substantial psychological harm’
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In February 2024, the patient told Green she was “the most beautiful woman in the world” in an Instagram message.
And in May that year, Green booked Travelodges in Bristol and Wales in order to stay with him.
Green ended the relationship on New Year’s Eve and wrote the patient a farewell letter after she miscarried the patient’s child.
On January 10, 2025, the victim told staff at the hospital he had engaged in a relationship with Green and showed photos of the two together.
Lydia-May Green booked Travelodges in Bristol and Wales for her and the psychiatric patient to stay together
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Green admitted the relationship to a friend who worked at the hospital on January 22 2025, saying she “did fall in love with him” and said she “engaged willingly”.
Friends and family cautioned Green against confessing to the relationship, and she later deleted some footage, the court heard.
She was arrested and interviewed on January 30 and again on April 28.
Prosecuting, barrister William Eaglestone said the victim was autistic, had ADHD, and schizoaffective disorder – a mental health condition combining psychotic symptoms with mood disorder.
The prosecutor cited Dr Hannah Toogood who said the relationship caused distress in the victim and resulted in him leaving his institution.
Defending, barrister Thomas Stanway said the patient contineud to contact Green and her friends from her arrest up until the day of her sentencing.
He added that Green had reported it to the police, adding she hoped to “stop all contact in any way possible” with the psychiatric patient.
Green accepted the inappropriate nature of the relationship, Mr Stanway said, but he added the man had pursed her, so the relationship was not “grooming” or “coercive”.
Mr Stanway said the relationship had a profound impact on Green’s career, who had worked 10 years to become a nurse.
“She was struggling and susceptible to making ill-advised choices and this relationship is possibly the worst decision she will ever make in her life,” he said.
Green, from Llanharan in Wales, pleaded guilty to a total of seven charges of engaging in sexual activity with a man with a mental disorder, dating from February to October 2024, and was sentenced to a total of 28 months imprisonment.