Sacked nurse who told patients to pray ‘was just showing compassion’
A CHRISTIAN nurse who was fired for offering to pray with patients before they faced surgery was simply showing “compassion”, a tribunal heard.
Sarah Kuteh lost her job last year after patients said she talked more about religion than of their procedures and told them that if they prayed to God they were more likely to survive.
Mrs Kuteh was dismissed for gross misconduct from Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent. Eight patients who were “extremely vulnerable” and awaiting surgery had submitted complaints about her behaviour.
Her case was brought to an employment tribunal after she claimed she was unfairly dismissed.
One cancer patient about to have a bowel operation protested after mother-of-three Mrs Kuteh told him his chances of pulling through would be boosted by prayer.
Another patient said being subjected to such religious “fervour” by Mrs Kuteh was “bizarre” and compared the experience to a “Monty Python skit”.
Mrs Kuteh spent more time talking about religion than completing a preoperative questionnaire, according to statements submitted to the tribunal in Ashford, Kent.
Mrs Kuteh, a nursing sister with 15 years’ experience, was sacked last August after several months’ suspension and referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council for disqualification proceedings. She appealed, but the panel agreed that the decision to dismiss Mrs Kuteh was “entirely appropriate”.
The hospital denied that she been sacked because of her faith. Victoria Leivers-Carruth, who chaired the hospital trust’s appeal hearing, said the panel believed Mrs Kuteh was using one-to-one time with patients to “impose her religious beliefs” on them.
Her lawyer Pavel Stroilov said yesterday she had simply been doing her job by showing compassion. He said: “On top of performing her immediate duties, a good nurse would try and find kind words to say to her patient.”
Mrs Kuteh said she was “serious” about her Christian faith but did not impose it on patients.
She said she would sometimes be prompted by the pre-op questionnaire. She told the hearing: “I don’t want it to look like it was a habit.”
Sarah Collins, general manager for medicine at Darent Valley Hospital, said Mrs Kuteh had been warned about her behaviour but “persisted with questioning patients on religious grounds”.
Tribunal judge Martin served judgment.