Sarah Kuteh, a nurse who was dismissed from her job after giving her personal Bible to one patient, was reinstated on 26 July.
The review panel unanimously ruled that Sarah was fully ‘fit to practise’ and revoked all restrictions on her nursing practice.
Sarah, who had 15 years’ nursing experience, was sacked for gross misconduct in August 2016. She had worked at Darent Valley Hospital since 2007. Her job involved asking patients about their faith as part of a pre-op assessment questionnaire. From time to time, this led to a conversation about faith with the patient.
Thoughtful
At the hearing, Sarah conceded that giving her personal Bible to a patient back in 2016 was ‘going too far’ and ‘crossing professional boundaries’ and that she should have used a Bible from the hospital chaplaincy instead.
‘We have been very impressed by your insight’, the panel chairman Adrian Smith told Sarah before handing down the decision vindicating her professional credentials. The ruling said: ‘It is in the public interest to return an otherwise experienced and competent nurse into practice.’
Talking with patients
On average, Sarah would see around 30-40 patients a week, and over the course of six months spoke to hundreds of patients. Sarah said that although she had no intention of imposing her beliefs on others, she would sometimes tell them about how her own faith in Christ had helped her overcome adversity.
‘I would … reassure them, based on the joy and peace that I really have found in Jesus’, she said.
In April 2016, her Matron came into her office and said she had been told by other staff about a few complaints by patients that she had discussed religion with them. Sarah said that, from then on, she would only discuss religion if the patient asked her to. If they initiated the conversation about religion, she would check they were happy.
But in June 2016, she was called into the Matron’s office and was shocked to be told that further complaints had been made. Only days later, she was suspended, told to collect her belongings and escorted from the hospital.
Working under restrictions
After her dismissal, Sarah was subject to a range of conditions. Although Sarah found a new job in a nursing home, she was only allowed to work under close supervision by a more senior nurse.
In a statement presented to the panel, Sarah’s supervisor praised her as ‘a kind, caring, honest, friendly nurse’ and ‘a valuable member of the team’. Another colleague described her as ‘respectful to both service users and colleagues’ and wrote that she ‘always acts professionally while on duty’.
