A mug on top of the drug trolley contained “definitely red wine”.
A nurse has been suspended after she was found drunk while dispensing medication.
Registered nurse Margo Murray was reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after her employer discovered she was “clearly intoxicated” while dispensing medication in a Glasgow care home.
Witnesses to the event told an NMC fitness to practice panel that Ms Murray had a mug on top of the drug trolley which contained “definitely red wine”.
The drug trolley was noted to be “in disarray” and Ms Murray was found to have a number of resident’s medications in her pockets.
They raised concerns that residents may have been given the wrong medication.
A previous concern had already been raised after Ms Murray was found at work previously “out of sorts and slurring her words a bit”.
Putting patients at risk.
A fitness to practise panel concluded Ms Murray’s ability to practice was impaired.
The panel concluded, “Putting patients at risk of harm by carrying out medication administration whilst being under the influence of alcohol.
“Mrs Murray has not shown any evidence of having taken any steps to remediate her behaviour.
“The proportion of alcohol in Mrs Murray’s breath, at the time she attended for work on 21 March 2019 as noted in the Police case summary is considered by the panel to be high.
“No evidence of insight into the potential impact of her actions whilst attending work when not fit to do so.”
The panel issued a suspension order for a period of 12 months, which will be reviewed at the end of the period.
Surprisingly, however, the panel was “satisfied that in this case, the misconduct was not fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the register”.
