NHS sacks nurse who sang The Lord is My Shepherd to patient
A CHRISTIAN nurse sacked after singing The Lord is My Shepherd with a patient awaiting surgery was trying to show ‘empathy’, an employment tribunal heard yesterday.
Sarah Kuteh was dismissed for breaching guidelines by discussing Christianity, even though her position involved asking people preparing for surgery about their religion.
The mother-of-three, who had 15 years’ experience in nursing, said she was simply offering solace to patients she believed were happy to chat about their beliefs.
Giving evidence to the hearing in Ashford, Kent, Mrs Kuteh admitted she had spoken about religion with her patients, but said it was usually promoted by a pre- operation questionnaire.
‘I am serious about my religion but I don’t think I impose my religion on people,’ she said.
‘I love nursing, I love what I do and talking to patients. I’m a very empathetic person.
Mrs Kuteh was sacked from Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent, for gross misconduct in August last year following eight complaints by ‘vulnerable’ patients facing surgery.
She was also referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council for disqualification proceedings.
Now the nursing sister is suing her employers at Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust for unfair dismissal. The tribunal was told that the patient with whom she sang Psalm 23 – The Lord is My Shep- herd – later complained that she had also said a long and intense prayer and offered him a Bible as he was lying in his hospital bed. Although he initially joined in the song, he later described the experience as ‘bizarre’ and comparable to ‘a Monty Python skit’.
A cancer patient facing bowel surgery also complained that Mrs Kuteh had told him that he would have a better chance of survival if he prayed to God.
Another patient felt Mrs Kuteh spent more time talking about religion than completing the pre- operative questionnaire, according to statements submitted to the tribunal.
But Pavel Stroilov, representing Mrs Kuteh, said nurses were meant to care for people facing hardship and suffering.
‘A nurse without compassion would be unworthy of the name,’ he added. ‘On top of performing her immediate duties, a good nurse would try to find kind words to say to her patient.’
Sarah Collins, general manager for medicine at the hospital, who was chairman of Mrs Kuteh’s first disciplinary hear-
‘Professional boundary’
ing, said she believed the nurse’s ‘spirituality blurred the professional boundary’. She added in a statement: ‘Despite having been warned against such behaviour on two occasions, she persisted with questioning patients on religious grounds.’
‘Following reasonable management requests formed a piv- otal aspect of Mrs Kuteh’s contract of employment with the trust.’ Mrs Collins said there had been a ‘fundamental breach of trust and confidence’, adding that she did not think Mrs Kuteh had learned from her mistakes and so would not change her behaviour.
‘Mrs Kuteh’s assertion that she felt compelled to continue to hold religious discussions with patients concerned me,’ she said.
Mr Stroilov argued that his client had not been ‘adequately informed’ of the allegations against her by Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust before an investigatory meeting.
Mrs Kuteh said she wanted to continue nursing, even if that meant supervised practice.
The tribunal reserved judgment until a later date.