Nurse stole pain meds and watered down patients’ supply

McCann, 40, committed the offences last year, stealing the drugs while working for Blanchelande Park Nursing and Residential Home.

The crimes came to light after residents complained that the drug – Oramorph, a liquid form of morphine – tasted funny or watery.

After another member of staff noticed the watery appearance, the level in one bottle was marked with a red line. Later, it was found that the liquid level in the bottle had risen.

The police were called and took away a number of bottles for analysis, finding DNA that matched McCann on the neck of one.

Crown Advocate Chris Dunford, prosecuting, told the court that McCann was arrested and while at first he denied taking the drug, when told about the DNA evidence he said ‘I’ve been busted’. From then on he was candid with officers.

He admitted taking the drug on several occasions and he faced two charges, one relating to four incidents, the second covering others. He pleaded guilty to both.

McCann had expressed remorse, apologised, and accepted that his actions had caused diluted Oramorph to be given to residents, Advocate Dunford said.

He had no previous convictions.

Advocate Oliver Fattorini, defending, said McCann had been a nurse for 15 years and worked in a care home in his native Scotland during the pandemic.

The stresses associated with that had led to his relationship with alcohol deteriorating and his marriage falling apart.

He came to Guernsey for a fresh start in July last year but his physiological dependence on alcohol had influenced his actions.

McCann had detoxed while in custody and as well as going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, had engaged with other services to deal with his issues.

His advocate asked Judge Graeme McKerrell to impose a suspended sentence, but the Judge said he was not able to do that.

Passing sentence, Mr McKerrell said that McCann had not only stolen the Oramorph but had tried to cover up what he had done.

While there was no direct evidence that anyone had suffered as a result of being given the watered-down drug, he said it was reasonable to assume that it had not afforded the same level of pain relief.

‘These patients must have suffered as a consequence of your selfishness,’ he said.

He sentenced McCann to a total of 10 months in prison, backdated to when he was taken into custody.

McCann had also pleaded guilty to the theft of two bottles of vodka, valued at £70 each, from the bar at the Premier Inn while he was staying there during a trip to Guernsey for a previous court appearance. He had been on bail at the time.

He was given an additional two months for each of these thefts, to run concurrent with each other but consecutive to the other sentence.

A statement from Blanchelande said that the home strictly followed Nursing and Midwifery Council guidelines.

‘We care deeply about those in our care, and we have a history of positive inspections by our regulators,’ it said.

‘As a care home which prides itself in excellence and high standards, we were troubled to learn that an individual member of staff, who was new to the home, abused his position as a registered nurse with access to medication within the first weeks of his starting his job.

‘Our dedicated staff were quick to identify the issue and act upon their suspicions. The matter was reported and dealt with swiftly and in accordance with our procedures and guidelines.

‘All affected persons were informed of the incident as soon as possible.’