A support worker decided to give a man her own prescription-only tablets to keep him calm.
Ruth Brown, 59, found herself embroiled in what a prosecutor at Carlisle Crown Court heard was an unusual and sad case after making what a judge said was a serious misjudgement.
Brown cared for those residing at supported accommodation in Whitehaven who had experienced addiction and mental health issues. Residents were free to come and go as they pleased, and managed their own medication.
But following the death of one male resident, concerns were raised about the supply of antidepressant fluoxetine tablets to him by Brown.
Relatives visited the premises in September 2020 after his death. They included a cousin who received a phone call from the man a few days before his death. He was told the man had been struggling to get hold of the tablets, and that his support worker Brown had given him some.
During a discussion at the premises after his death involving relatives, with staff members present, Brown was seen to well up with tears. She said: “I’m sorry, it was me who gave him the tablets.”
She had provided him with two to three of her own supply — despite not being authorised — in a bid to keep him calm. Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson said Brown, of Bransty Road, Whitehaven, was interviewed, and he told the court: “She said everything she had done was always in the best interest of her clients.”
In court, Brown admitted a charge of illegally supplying prescription-only medication.
She tendered her resignation after the offence, had tried without success to secure the man a GP appointment to obtain fluoxetine, and to access emergency mental health support — only to be told she needed a GP referral. After hitting this brick wall, she gave the man the tablets to help him.
“It was undoubtedly a misjudgement,” said defence barrister Judith McCullough in mitigation. “It is an important feature of this case that she didn’t act maliciously. She now accepts and recognises it was an irresponsible and illegal act.”
Judge Ian Unsworth QC stressed that Brown’s actions had not contributed to the man’s death. He imposed a 12-month community order comprising 200 hours’ unpaid work, telling Brown, a woman of previous good character: “It seems clear to me at the time of this matter you thought you were doing the right thing. It is accepted by you, you were wrong about that. It was a serious misjudgement on your part.”
