A student nurse from Waltham Forest is accused of raping a vulnerable patient in an east London mental health hospital.

Ige Apata, 42, will stand trial in March, charged with three counts of rape and two counts of sexual touching at Goodmayes Hospital in Redbridge earlier this year.

The alleged crimes are said to have taken place in a part of the hospital that deals with the most vulnerable patients, such as those that present an acute risk to themselves or have had a stroke.

The alleged crimes were discussed earlier this month at a board meeting of the North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT), which runs the hospital.

Read more: Waltham Forest man sexually assaults woman at Leyton Tesco

At the meeting, board members were told the trust had responded to the allegations by increasing the amount of safeguarding staff on the ward.

A NELFT spokesperson said: “The priority of our team is to ensure the safety of our patients. 

“We are working closely with the Met police as part of their investigation and continue to offer close support to our service users, their families and our staff.”

Apata, of Higham Hill Road, was charged in March and will appear before a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court on March 21.