Kentish Express Ashford & District
Nurse who took patient’s cash ‘naive and stupid’
An Ashford nurse who admitted taking £150 from a terminally ill patient will still be able to work in the profession.
Jodie Boxer admitted accepting cash loans from a woman she treated at Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital when she appeared before a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) misconduct hearing.
She also faced charges of withdrawing cash from the patient’s bank account and dishonest conduct in relation to said charge, but these could not be proved at the hearing on Monday, September 21 because the patient was too ill to give evidence.
Ms Boxer had been working on the hospital’s Cambridge Ward but was sacked by the East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust for gross misconduct when the patient first made the claims in 2011.
James Edenborough, on behalf of the NMC, described the allegations as “very serious”, concerning a “fundamental breach of trust”.
But while Ms Boxer admitted accepting money from the terminally ill patient, she said she believed she was just borrowing money from a friend.
In a written statement read at the hearing, she said: “I sat down with Patient X and had a conversation about how things were with each other’s lives.
“We talked about the problems that had been affecting Patient X and she asked how I was. I explained that things had been a little difficult and the agency work was not as reliable as I first thought.
“Patient X said that she did not mind lending me some money until I got paid.
“I realise that I crossed the boundary between nurse and patient and broke the Code of Conduct.
“The whole experience has drastically changed my life. I can now see that I was naïve and stupid to see a patient as my friend.”
Patient X was unable to attend the trial due to illness and her evidence was subsequently admitted as ‘hearsay.’
Five of Ms Boxer’s friends and colleagues gave positive testimonials, speaking of her good character and that the actions were out of character.
The panel concluded that due to Ms Boxer’s insight, remorse, reflection and remediation she is unlikely to repeat such misconduct and should not be struck off the nurses register.