Blackpool nurse who drugged stroke patients jailed

A nurse who drugged patients on a stroke unit to “keep them quiet and compliant” has been jailed.

Catherine Hudson, 54, was found guilty of giving unprescribed sedatives to two patients at Blackpool Victoria Hospital between February 2017 and November 2018 for an “easy life”.

She was also convicted of conspiring with Charlotte Wilmot, 48, to give a sedative to a third patient.

Hudson was jailed for seven years and two months at Preston Crown Court.

Wilmot was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty during the same trial.

The pair were investigated after a student nurse witnessed events on a work placement on the stroke unit and told senior managers in November 2018, who called in police.

Judge Robert Altham, Honorary Recorder of Preston, said the defendants had a duty to “protect and care” for these patients who were “as vulnerable as anyone could be”.

“These defendants exploited them for an easy shift, for amusement and to exercise contemptuous power over them,” he added.

The whistleblowing nurse, who the prosecution had asked not to be named, told officers she had concerns over the use of insomnia medication Zopiclone, which can be life-threatening if given inappropriately.

She said Hudson had told her the patient had a Do Not Resuscitate Order in place “so she wouldn’t be opened up if she died or… came to any harm”.

One of Hudson’s victims was Aileen Scott, from Glasgow, now 76, who had suffered a stroke while on holiday in Blackpool and was taken to the hospital.

During the sentencing hearing, Ms Scott’s son, Brian, turned to Hudson in the dock and said: “The way you spoke about patients is beyond belief and nothing short of wicked and pure evil.

“Thanks to the bravery of a student nurse in highlighting you and your evil and uncaring ways, it has most likely saved my mum’s life.”

The judge also commended the whistleblower’s actions, adding: “It was only as a result of her courage and sense of public duty that what was happening on the ward was exposed and stopped.”

During the trial, prosecutors said a “culture of abuse” was revealed on the unit when police examined WhatsApp phone messages between the co-defendants and other members of staff.

Hudson wrote about one of her victims: “I sedated one of them to within an inch of her life lol. Bet she’s flat for a week haha xxx.”

In a message exchange about an elderly male patient, Hudson wrote: “I’m going to kill bed 5 xxx.”

The next evening, Hudson messaged Wilmot: “If bed 5 starts he will b getting sedated to hell…

“I’ll get u the abx [antibiotic] xxx.”

Giving evidence, both defendants denied all the allegations and claimed the private messages were “banter” and not supposed to be taken seriously.

They said the “gallows humour” was the venting of their frustrations at working in a chronically understaffed unit.

Hudson was also convicted of stealing Mebeverine, a medication intended for an end-of-life patient.

She pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiring with other colleagues to steal other drugs, including Zopiclone, and also a further offence of perverting the course of justice.

Wilmot was convicted of encouraging Hudson to ill-treat a patient and also pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal medication from the hospital.

Det Ch Insp Jill Johnston, of Lancashire Police, said: “For a loved one to enter hospital is often a difficult and worrying time for their relatives. For two nurses to behave this way is sickening.

“They were both fully aware of the risks, which makes their behaviour even harder to comprehend.

“Hudson’s offending was particularly calculated, all while portraying herself as a role model nurse. This could not be further from the truth.”