THOUSANDS of nurses believe it is justified to break the taboo on having an affair with a patient in their care.

Almost one in 10 nurses think starting a relationship with one of their patients is acceptable while one in six said they knew of a colleague who had a sexual relationship with a patient they were looking after.

The findings, published by the Nursing Times, will add weight to the controversial remarks by Conservative peer Lord Mancroft that nurses are “promiscuous” and “unprofessional”.

Mancroft has faced a huge backlash after claiming that nurses discussed their sexual and drinking exploits in front of him while he was being treated at the Royal United hospital in Bath last summer.

The survey’s findings suggest a significant proportion of Britain’s 400,000 nurses are prepared to run the risk of sanctions – which in extreme cases could entail being struck off – for sleeping with patients. They also reveal that relationships between nurses and patients are not uncommon.

In January the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) issued strict new rules reminding nurses that they face disciplinary action if they embark on a sexual relationship with a current patient.

The rules also say that relationships with former patients will often be deemed unacceptable. The regulations have proved contentious with nurses who say many such relationships end in marriage.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says the survey findings, of 3,600 nurses, are “very concerning”. Dr Peter Carter, general secretary of the RCN, says a relationship with a current patient can never be condoned but believes relationships with former patients are acceptable in some circumstances. Carter also disputes that the findings support Mancroft’s claim that nurses are promiscuous.

The peer claimed nurses boasted of their drunken behaviour and sexual conquests while he was recovering from blood poisoning at the Royal United hospital last July.

This is not the first time Mancroft has criticised the health service. The peer was treated successfully for heroin addiction in America and in a Lords debate in 1991 accused the National Health Service of being the “biggest supplier of addictive drugs in the world”.

Mancroft – who went to Eton and is a member of Pratt’s club in London, as well as being a former master of the Beaufort Hunt in Gloucestershire – says he believes it is his duty to speak out on sensitive issues, even if it makes him unpopular.

He told the peers last week that he owed his life to the fact that his wife had “kidnapped” him from the Bath hospital, where he claims he received sub-standard care, and took him to the Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London. Mancroft did not name the Royal United hospital in the debate but its identity later emerged in the media.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, has asked Lord Strathclyde, his party’s leader in the Lords, to rebuke Mancroft over his comments. Cameron said: “He should think more carefully before he opens his mouth. I completely disagree with what he said. I think it doesn’t reflect the incredibly hard work that nurses do.”

The chief executive of the Royal United hospital NHS Trust has written to Mancroft inviting him to discuss his concerns.

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