BIRMINGHAM July 28: A nurse who had sex with a critically ill patient as he waited for a heart and lung transplant has been suspended, Daily Mail reported.

Rebecca Bayliss, 29, had a passionate three-month affair with the man after she treated him in February 2008. He suffered from cystic fibrosis and needed vital surgery at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital to prolong his life.

But Bayliss joked to colleagues that she would have to turn up his oxygen and give him a nebuliser -a device that administers a mist of medication for inhalation - before having sex with him. He later told investigators the affair 'certainly didn't help my recovery'.

Bayliss was hauled before the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after the patient confided in a clinical psychologist. Bayliss, who did not attend Tuesday's hearing in London, was found guilty of having a sexual relationship with the man and suspended for 12 months.

The panel was told the patient was admitted to the hospital in February 2008 for a heart and lungs transplant. Bayliss, who had a boyfriend at the time, cared for the patient on her ward but quickly 'fell in love' with him.

They started an 'intense sexual relationship' until hospital managers found out. The nurse, who had worked for Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust since 2006, even boasted about the affair on her Facebook page saying she was 'excited'.