An ICU nurse who was suspended after snooping through dozens of medical records can keep working for another 60 days because of the COVID-19 crisis despite a real risk she will reoffend, a tribunal has ruled.

At the urging of her husband, the nurse accessed the records at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle of his ex-partner and children to give him an advantage in Family Court proceedings.

She was sacked in 2019 and subsequently plead guilty in the Local Court to criminal charges of unauthorised access to restricted data.

The nurse admitted her behaviour was “inexcusable” but argued she needed to check on the wellbeing of one of the children who had failed to attend an access visit.