A hospice nurse was struck off the nursing register after she gave patients the wrong doses of medicine and caused ‘unwarranted risk of harm to vulnerable patients’ according to a report
A nurse who allegedly made a bet that one of her hospice patients would die on Christmas Day has been struck off.
Naomi Butcher, 60, made a string of serious medical errors while she worked at St Peter and St James Hospice, in Lewes, East Sussex. The nurse placed a terminally ill patient “at risk of death” by administering 50mg of Midazolam, a medicine common in hospice care, instead of the prescribed 5mg.
She also failed to report the mistake and claimed the correct amount had been given, according to a Nursing and Midwifery Council Fitness to Practise Committee.
Butcher also shockingly refused the request of a family to visit their dead relative because, according to a witness in a report, she said they “they burn their bodies in caravans when they die” – a claim which Ms Butcher denied, but which the Fitness to Practise Committee found proved.
Butcher has now been struck off the nursing register following a hearing by the Fitness to Practise Committee. It found the nurse had a “pattern of misconduct over a period of time”, caused “unwarranted risk of harm to vulnerable patients” and “discriminatory behaviour”.
A shocking report into the former nurse’s conduct said she made a bet with colleagues on one of her patients dying on Christmas Day. The hearing said Butcher, on December 11, 2023, in relation to the hospice patient said: “I make a bet with all of you that he will die on Christmas Day”.
A panel decided the shocking remark was “degrading” and could have “cause emotional and psychological distress” to the vulnerable person and their family if they overheard the comment.
The report also listed several times that the nurse had incorrectly administered medication to patients or just not done it at all. On August 16, 2023, Butcher failed to give a patient a 1g dose of Paracetamol.
On September 4, 2023, Butcher failed to give that same person their full dose of Oxycodone – a strong pain medication. She also didn’t give this person their Promethazine medication – an antihistamine – in November of that year.
The nurse, on August 19, 2023, put the wrong syringe into a patient. On March 11, 2024, she administered 80mg of Oxycodone to a person instead of 80mg of Morphine Sulphate tablets.
A panel decided the nurse’s “fitness to practice is impaired by reason of your misconduct”. Butcher admitted all the allegations against her expect the comments about the traveller family and “burning the patient in a caravan”.
Despite this, the panel said Butcher’s decision to not engage with the trial “was an indication that there was no challenge to the contents of the documents”.
A witness statement from a healthcare assistant at the hospice, Kelly Viner, said: “Until the incident on 12 March 2024, I have never come across a situation where a family was turned down from seeing their loved one.
“On this day, Naomi and I and 2 others were at our desks in the nurses office, writing up patient notes. Then Naomi said she had just got a call from Patient X’s (then deceased) family saying they wanted to come and see Patient X again but she said no to them coming to the Hospice……. She also said they normally burn their bodies in caravans when they die….”
The team leader at the hospice, Faye Bravant, also submitted a witness statement which said: “On 13 March 2024, a family called the Hospice to request a visit to see their relative who had just passed away and I said it was okay for them to come in.
“After the call, one of the healthcare assistants told me that the family had called the previous day, wanting to visit but Naomi said they could not come…. She also said Naomi was talking about how the family were gypsies and so they would burn the patient in a caravan.”
Ms Butcher denied the allegations but the Fitness to Practise Committee found the case proven.
The hospice said it was made aware of several allegations surrounding Butcher and emailed her March 19, 2024, to discuss the medications incident when she came back to work. She handed in her notice on March 25 and went on sick leave during the resignation period, so the hospice said it was not able to discuss the incidents with her.
St Peter and St James Hospice referred concerns about Butcher to the Nursing and Midwifery Council on April 4, 2024. She was handed a striking-off order after the Fitness to Practise Committee this week.
