Nurse struck off after illegally drugging patients ‘for an easy life’

A nurse who was jailed for illegally drugging her elderly patients has now been struck off.

Catherine Hudson was jailed in December 2023 after being found guilty of illegally sedating two patients at Blackpool Victoria Hospital and conspiring with another colleague to sedate a third.

Following a Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing, she has now been struck off the nursing register.

A report following the hearing said she ‘put vulnerable patients at risk of significant harm’ and had contempt for the people in her care.

Police were alerted in November 2018 after a student nurse reported Hudson, 54, had suggested giving an unprescribed sleeping pill to an elderly patient.

She gave one victim, 76-year-old Aileen Scott – who had been paralysed by a stroke – an unprescribed sedative, zopiclone, to keep her ‘quiet and compliant’.

Her son described Hudson as ‘pure evil’ and said his mum’s treatment would ‘haunt’ her family for the rest of their lives.

She wrote about one of her victims in a WhatsApp message: ‘I sedated one of them to within an inch of her life lol. Bet she’s flat for a week haha xxx.’

During sentencing, the judge said to Hudson: ‘The patients were as vulnerable as anyone could be. They could not leave the stroke unit.

‘Some of them found it difficult to make themselves understood. These defendants exploited them for an easy shift, for amusement, to exercise a contemptuous power over them.’

The panel found Hudson’s conduct of deliberate ill-treatment of multiple vulnerable patients, stealing drugs and deliberately attempting to destroy evidence, together with her contempt and disregard towards patients and their families was indicative of dangerous and deep-seated attitudinal issues.

Concerns of dishonesty and attitudinal issues are difficult to remediate, and determined that there was a ‘high risk’ of Hudson’s behaviour being repeated, the panel added.

The hearing report said: ‘Mrs Hudson’s actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse and in the panel’s judgement they were fundamentally incompatible with her remaining on the register.

‘The panel was of the view that a member of the public would find it morally reprehensible if a nurse were allowed to practise having been convicted of ill-treatment of patients, theft of drugs and perverting the course of justice.’

While the striking-off order cannot take effect until the end of a 28-day appeal period, the panel has also imposed an interim suspension order for 18 months to cover any potential appeal period.

Band five staff nurse Hudson was sentenced at Preston crown court for three offences of ill-treatment and one of conspiracy to ill-treat in relation to vulnerable patients at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

She was also sentenced for conspiring to steal five different medications from the hospital and perverting the course of justice by attempting to dispose of the medication.

Hudson, of Blackpool, pleaded guilty to theft of Omeprazole, conspiracy to steal Omeprazole, conspiracy to steal Amoxicillin x2, conspiracy to steal Zopiclone x2, perverting the course of justice, conspiracy to steal Trimethoprim, conspiracy to steal Metronidazole.

Hudson was convicted after trial of ill-treatment on three counts, conspiracy to ill-treat, and theft of Mebeverine.

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