Shropshire nurse suspended for a year over medical request
Laura Louise Stockton has been suspended.
A Shropshire community nurse has been suspended for a year after she made a medical request regarding a patient without having the necessary qualification.
Laura Louise Stockton joined Severn Hospice on June 17, 2024, as a Band 5 registered nurse in the hospice at home team.
On October 7, 2024, a patient attended the day services clinic in Apley Castle, Telford. He had several cancers and a painful chronic wound.
After the appointment Miss Stockton spoke to Sandra Morris, the day services nurse manager, and it was agreed that Miss Stockton would write to the GP asking for a review of the patient’s medication and request a visit by the hospice at home team.
No specific medications or doses were discussed. However, the letter that Miss Stockton sent asked the GP to stop the patient’s fentanyl patch (prescribed to manage severe, persistent, chronic pain) be stopped and replaced by morphine sulphate modified-release tablets.
Miss Stockton accepted that she had not discussed the patient’s medication with anyone before the letter was sent. She said she wrote it earlier in the day and intended to discuss it later. The letter was sent to the administrative team without Miss Stockton re-reading it.
A fitness to practise committee substantive hearing deemed that her actions were dishonest because Miss Stockton sought to give the impression that she had sought advice from the practitioners when she knew she had not.
Miss Stockton was already subject to a five-year caution order that was imposed on March 10, 2021.
The committee concluded that her fitness to practise was impaired and issued a suspension order that will be reviewed after 12 months. An 18-month interim suspension order was also imposed to cover an appeal.
The panel said that it was not persuaded to issue a striking-off order after considering the circumstances of the order, the mitigation advanced, and the steps Miss Stockton had taken towards addressing the concerns.
Other charges including that Ms Stockton’s actions were dishonest were not proved.
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.