A mental health nurse has pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing a patient at a London hospital, after being extradited from Barbados to face trial in the UK. Jason Forde, 56, denied eight charges relating to alleged sexual activity with a woman while she was being treated for a mental disorder at a unit at Homerton Hospital in Hackney. The case matters because it involves allegations of abuse of a position of trust by a healthcare professional against a vulnerable patient in his care.

Appearing via video link at Wood Green Crown Court, Forde denied all eight counts, which include charges under the Sexual Offences Acts of 1956 and 2003 and the Mental Health Act 1959. The alleged offences date back to the 2000s at a unit then run by the East London and City Mental Health Trust, now part of the East London NHS Foundation Trust. Forde was extradited from Barbados and arrived in the UK earlier this summer. Her Honour Emma Deacon KC set a trial date of 26 April 2027, with a time estimate of four days.