A Christchurch nurse has been struck off the nurses' register for historical sexual abuse of mentally-disabled patients at a now-defunct hospital.

The nurse, Michael Gerard Davey, can now be named after the High Court lifted his name suppression last month.

The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal last year found Davey guilty of professional misconduct for sexually abusing patients in his care at the former Templeton Hospital in Christchurch in 1990 and 1992.

He confessed his offending in March 1992 to two counsellors at an organisation which assists sexual offenders to stop abuse, the tribunal heard.

One counsellor advised him to resign from his job, inform his wife of his offending and disclose the offending to police.

Davey abruptly quit his job, but told the counsellor he would not tell the police, prompting the counsellor to do so out of safety concerns.

Police later informed a Templeton Hospital nurse, Jennifer Deane - who was working on a policy on preventing sexual abuse of residents - that Davey had allegedly sexually abused patients.

But he was not charged until 16 years later in 2008, when Ms Deane discovered Davey was attending a return to nursing course at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology and made a complaint to the Nursing Council.

At the tribunal hearing, Davey denied admitting the abuse to the counsellors, saying one of them put words into his mouth.

But the tribunal found the counsellors' evidence believable and compelling, while Davey's was "inconsistent in some material aspects".

His actions at the time, including resigning abruptly and not practising for 17 years, also supported the counsellors' evidence, the tribunal said.

It censured Davey and cancelled his nursing registration, saying it was the "only appropriate penalty ... to ensure public safety and maintain proper standards".