A UK-based nurse, Sarah Kuteh, who was sacked in August 2016 for appearing to preach Jesus to a cancer patient has lost her appeal.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the National Health Service (NHS) was fair to dismiss her after she offered a bible to a cancer patient and encouraged him to sing The Lord is My Shepherd at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent, in 2016.
The court heard that the 50-year-old was in the habit of talking to patients about her faith and handing out a bible, in breach of Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) rules.
Her case reached the attention of authorities after a patient at the hospital complained about her conduct.
The court also heard how the patient likened the incident to a ‘Monty Python skit’, which he said was ‘very bizarre’ – in which she encouraged him to sing along with Psalm 23 with her.
“(She) told him she would give him her bible if he did not have one; gripped his hand tightly and said a prayer that was very intense and went ‘on and on’; and asked him to sing Psalm 23 (The Lord is My Shepherd) after which he was so astounded that he had sung the first verse with her,” part of the court’s documents read.
Another document described Kuteh as telling a bowel cancer patient in April 2016 ‘that if he prayed to God he would have a better chance of survival.’
Kuteh, a mother of three, was suspended from her job in June 2016 and sacked for gross misconduct in August the same year.
