Cable Forum - View Single Post - Nurse suspended for offering to pray for patient's recovery

**Hugh** · 01-02-2009, 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ B

Because the trust has given no legitimate reason for the nurse not to offer to pray for the patient in her own time. Disciplining someone for such a reason is completely pointless and smacks too much of political correctness.

Link

"The woman patient, who is believed to be in her late 70s, is understood to have complained to the trust....

.....In the report today a spokesman for North Somerset Primary Care Trust said: "Caroline Petrie has been suspended pending an investigation into the matter.
"She is a bank nurse and she has been told we will not be using her in this capacity until the outcome of our investigation is known.We always take any concerns raised by our patients most seriously and conscientiously investigate any matter of this nature brought to our attention.
We are always keen to be respectful of our patients' views and sensitivity as well as those of our staff"".

And here is a fuller item, with some history, from a Bradford paperLink

"Mrs Petrie had previously been reprimanded for an incident in Clevedon last October when she offered to give a small, home-made prayer card to an elderly, male patient, who had happily accepted it.

On this occasion, the patient's carer, who was with him, raised concerns over the incident.

Alison Withers, Mrs Petrie's boss at the time, wrote to her at the end of November saying: "As a nurse you are required to uphold the reputation of your profession.

"Your NMC [Nursing Midwifery Council] code states that 'you must demonstrate a personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity' and 'you must not use your professional status to promote causes that are not related to health'."

In the letter, Mrs Petrie, who qualified as a nurse in 1985, was asked to attend an equality and diversity course and warned: "If there is any further similar incident it may be treated as potential misconduct and the formal disciplinary procedure could be instigated."

Mrs Petrie said: "I stopped handing out prayer cards after that but I found it more and more difficult [not to offer them]. My concern is for the person as a whole, not just their health.

"I was told not to force my faith on anyone but I could respond if patients themselves brought up the subject [of religion]."

It is the second incident – the offer to pray for a patient – that led to the disciplinary action. She was suspended from her part-time job, without pay, on December 17.

She faced an internal disciplinary meeting last Wednesday and expects to learn the outcome this week.

At last week's hour-long meeting, Mrs Petrie says she was told the patient had said she was not offended by the prayer offer but the woman argued that someone else might have been."