Nurse jailed for ill-treating and unlawfully sedating hospital patients

A nurse who unlawfully sedated patients on a hospital stroke unit has been jailed for seven years and two months.

Band 5 staff nurse Catherine Hudson, 54, was sentenced today 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.

Assistant practitioner, Charlotte Wilmot, 48, was today jailed for three years at the same court for ill-treating a patient and conspiring to ill-treat another with her colleague, Hudson. She also conspired with Hudson to steal three different medications.

Band 7 staff nurse, Marek Grabianowski, 46, was jailed for 14 months for conspiracy to steal prescription drugs and perverting the course of justice.

Karen Tonge, Specialist Prosecutor for CPS North’s Complex Casework Unit, said: “Catherine Hudson needlessly drugged patients with the full knowledge of the potentially life-threatening consequences of her actions and Wilmot encouraged her.

“Hudson and Wilmot showed a complete disregard for the wellbeing of the vulnerable patients, whose care should have been their top priority.

“The callous way they mocked and laughed about the patients was absolutely shameful. Their conduct is a complete betrayal of the trust placed in them as medical professionals.

“I hope the victims and their families can find some comfort in knowing that those who mistreated their loved ones have been brought to justice. I would also like to thank the student nurse who came forward to raise her concerns, without whose bravery and support this prosecution may not have been possible.”

The investigation began in 2018 when a student nurse raised concerns around the treatment of patients on the stroke ward.

Hudson had suggested to the student that they should give a patient zopiclone, a sedative, after being told the patient had been awake overnight.

She stated that if the patient came to harm as a result, she would not be caught out as nobody would investigate the cause of death.

Zopiclone is a Class C controlled drug, and its use must be closely monitored. It can place patients with underlying conditions at greater risk.

The CPS worked with Lancashire police on this highly complex investigation, piecing together phone evidence, social media messages, eyewitness testimony along with medical and forensic evidence to build a compelling case to put before the court.

When police officers looked at the phone messages and social media accounts of those involved, they discovered Hudson would mock patients in her care and brag to her colleagues that she had sedated them to “within an inch of their lives”.

The messages showed Wilmot encouraging Hudson to sedate an 80-year-old woman.

Hudson had similar conversations with other colleagues, bragging to one of them that she had sedated a patient and saying they needed “putting to sleep” and to be “sedated to hell”, “making for a nice day”.

The patients were not sedated for any medical reason, and it is believed their motivation was either for their own amusement or to make their shift easier.

Hudson and Wilmot also conspired to steal amoxicillin, metronidazole and trimethoprim, all antibiotic medications.

Hudson’s then partner, Marek Grabianowski, who worked elsewhere, conspired with Hudson to steal omeprazole, for his stomach cramps and zopiclone, a sedative medication, for Grabianowski’s father.

Police later uncovered evidence of a conversation between Hudson and Grabianowski discussing the disposal of the drugs that had been stolen. They were heard flushing medication down the toilet and discussing destroying the batch numbers.

Prior to sentencing, the court heard from the families of those that had been illtreated.