By Nurse ‘truly sorry’ following suspension after medication theft
A nurse who practiced at Grimsby’s Diana Princess of Wales Hospital has received a six-month suspension from the nursing register.
The nurse stole a box of paracetamol for her husband who she was caring for at the time.
Nurse Diane Staves was found guilty of misconduct by the Nursing and Midwifery Council at a recent hearing about the incident in August 2018.
Mrs. Staves was dismissed from the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust in October, of the same year for theft of the medication.
She later admitted the accusation on a Regulatory Concerns Response Form, signed and dated May 16, 2019.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) received a referral from the Acting Head of Nursing at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.
It is said that Mrs. Staves accessed the controlled drugs cupboard in the hospital whilst on leave and without permission. She later admitted to knowing she did not have permission to take the medication.
The published report from the NMC said there was no evidence before the panel that the nurse’s actions were innocent or a careless mistake. This resulted in her ‘fitness to practice’ being impaired.
Whilst the medication could easily have been replaced, and no patients were put at harm from the incident, the panel found Mrs. Staves’ dishonesty breached the ethos of the nursing profession.
Mrs. Staves’ said in the internal investigation she was “truly sorry” for what she had done.
The panel took into account that this was a one-off incident and that Mrs. Staves was under unprecedented stress due to caring for her husband at the time. It was decided that it would be neither proportionate nor in the public interest to take any further action.
