LEIGHTON: CLEARED SALINE CONTAMINATION NURSE ATTEMPTNG TO OVERTURN SUSPENSION

The nurse cleared of being the saline drip serial killer should remain suspended because she has confessed to stealing drugs from the hospital where she worked, a hearing was told today (Weds).

Rebecca Leighton, 27, had dozens of high-strength prescription painkillers, including tramadol and ibuprofen in her flat when it was searched by police, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

Leighton was arrested on July 20 as part of the investigation into the sudden and unexplained deaths of patients at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport after saline drips were contaminated with insulin.

The nurse faced three counts of criminal damage with intent to endanger life, alternative counts of being reckless as to whether life was endangered and a single charge of theft of medicine.

Leighton, of Heaviley, Stockport, was held on remand at Styal women’s prison in Cheshire until September 2 when the Crown Prosecution Service dropped all the charges against her.

Greater Manchester Police are still investigating the suspicious deaths of Tracey Arden, 44, Arnold Lancaster, 71, and Alfred Derek Weaver, 83, at the hospital.

Leighton today (Weds) asked the NMC panel, sitting in central London, to revoke an order made in August suspending her from the medical register for 18 months.

But opposing the application, Salim Hafejee, for the NMC, said officers had unearthed 20 penicillin tablets, 20 ibuprofen tablets and 18 tramadol capsules when they searched Leighton’s flat and she 
had later admitted to stealing them.

‘The reasonable inference at this stage, taking the case at its highest, would be that they had been taken for her own use,’ he said.

‘The fact that it was a drug of this class is a particularly worrying aspect.

‘One hesitates to bandy around the name of Shipman too regularly, but you will be aware of the impact of professionals dependent on drugs and the perception that it creates.’

He added: ‘There were admissions to the theft of the drugs by Ms Leighton, but that charge of was discontinued in that it was not in the public interest to proceed.

‘One can assume that the time she had spent remanded in custody and the possible sentence for the first offence of theft from an employer may well have been a part of that rationale.

‘But the fact that it has not resulted in a conviction does not mean that the NMC will not be seized with the matter.

‘The theft of anything including drugs from a hospital setting, where nurses are in a position of trust is a serious matter in itself, irrespective of any other background.’

Mr Hafejee said there was a ‘public interest’ in Leighton remaining suspended from nursing.

‘This is one of those rare cases,’ he told the panel.

‘The context in which she has first been suspended and continues to be suspended, the public interest test is clearly met.’

But Paul Rooney, for Leighton, said there had been a ‘substantial and fundamental change’ in circumstances since the original NMC hearing on August 2.

‘The NMC have made no inquiries whatsoever that would bolster or assist the panel in these bold suppositions,’ he said.

‘We say that is not good enough, and that the NMC are in danger of slipping into the media hype surrounding this case.’

He added that she would face financial ruin if she was unable to return to nursing, and would be unable to meet the rent on the flat she shares with her boyfriend.

‘Within one month she would default on regular payments, including a personal loan, which would lead to further financial penalties, a poor credit rating and ultimately bankruptcy,’ he said.

‘She has had her liberty restored and she expects to be able to return to the profession she loves and has worked hard to be part of.’

‘She has no longer been singled out,’ added Mr Rooney.

‘There are no reasons for finding it is necessary to impose an interim order and consequently the current order should be revoked.’

The panel is expected to announce its decision this afternoon.

The hearing continues.

mfl