Between 1986 and 1992, incidents of professional misconduct by nurses in the UK doubled from 291 to 586. Such malpractice included sexual assaults, violent attacks and ill-treatment of patients, particularly in cases of the vulnerable: children, elderly, mentally handicapped and mentally ill. Although only one in ten of the UK's registered nurses is a man, most complaints involved male nurses. Of 650 nurses accused of misconduct in 1992, only about half appeared before a disciplinary tribunal, and half again were struck of the register. The majority of appeals for restoration to the register have been granted in recent years.