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AN OPERATING department practitioner who stole drugs from a hospital medicine cabinet has been struck off.
Kerry Garside stole co-codamol from Spire Cheshire Hospital in Stretton, where she was employed as an ODP between March 2013 and May 2015, in order to feed her addiction to pain-relieving medication.
A Health and Care Professionals Council hearing in London has now ordered that the 37-year-old be struck off the register for her ‘dishonest and repeated’ actions.
In April 2015, the Fir Tree Close hospital’s matron was approached by a pharmacist who had noticed that drugs had gone missing from a cupboard in the theatre recovery area.
The following month, the matron was informed by a member of staff that Miss Garside was seen putting an item from the drugs cupboard into her pocket before going to her locker.
When the matron went to the Latchford resident’s open locker she found two strips of co-codamol in an envelope.
That evening, the matron and pharmacist put a box of co-codamol, which had corners cut off the strips in order to identify the drugs, in the cupboard.
These drugs were later found in Miss Garside’s bag.
When spoken to the following day, she initially denied taking the drugs but then ‘quickly’ confessed and admitted that she had taken prescription medication from the cupboard on earlier occasions.
Miss Garside took the drugs in order to self-administer them, with the HCPC panel hearing that Miss Garside was addicted to pain-relieving medication.
The panel was told the Miss Garside, who was not present or represented at the hearing, was ‘remorseful’ and had stated the she would ‘take steps to address the underlying reason why she had taken the drugs’.
However the panel had been provided with no evidence to show that Miss Garside’s problems had been addressed or that the failings had been remedied, and found that there was a ‘significant risk of repetition’ of her actions.
Panel chair Judith Walker said: “The panel is of the view that Miss Garside’s actions fell far short of the standards expected of an operating department practitioner.
“It is satisfied that a fair-minded and fully informed member of the public would be dismayed were an operating department practitioner who had stolen drugs in the circumstances found by the panel were to be permitted to return to unrestricted practise.”
Spire Cheshire Hospital director Verlie Brazel said that they demanded the ‘highest standards of professionalism from its staff’.
She said: “At Spire Cheshire Hospital, patient safety is our top priority and we demand the highest standards of professionalism from our clinical staff.
“Conduct that does not meet these high standards is not tolerated and where appropriate we will make the necessary referrals to the Health and Care Professionals Council.
“We acknowledge the findings of the Health and Care Professionals Council and can confirm that Ms Garside has not work for Spire Healthcare since May 2015.”