Charges against nurse accused of stealing drugs dismissed under mental health act
Charges against a nurse accused of stealing drugs from a hospital have been dismissed under the mental health act, after the court heard she had given up her own life to take care of a child, who suffered from a genetic condition.
Illawarra Star
Don't miss out on the headlines from Illawarra Star. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Doctor allegedly prescribed patient drugs in exchange for sex acts
- Little boy had cocktail of drugs in his system
Charges against an Illawarra nurse accused of stealing drugs from Wollongong Hospital have been dismissed under the mental health act, after it was revealed she suffers from “severe depression” and an opioid addiction.
Sarah Jane Longden was slapped with 11 criminal charges in June, after police raided her Kembla Grange home following a tip-off from hospital management. During the search, police allegedly uncovered a haul of restricted and prescription drugs, which had been stolen while she was employed as a nurse.
Allegedly included in the haul were five empty bottles of Morphine, 21 injectable doses of a human hormone known, drugs to treat gout, anti-inflammatory steroids, antibiotics, nausea relief and insulin needles.
The charges, including larceny and having suspected goods on her property, were dismissed by Magistrate McRobert under the mental health act on Friday, after Longden’s defence lawyer Graeme Morrison told the court she was using the drugs to treat her severe depression.
“The lifestyle my client is leading at the moment is one you wouldn’t wish upon anyone,” he said.
He also said she was caring for a child that “suffers from a genetic disorder who is in a motorised wheelchair that needs to be fed through a tube … after work she comes home and looks after [them].”
The court heard the drugs Longden was allegedly stealing were “dregs” left behind from other patients.
“Most of the drugs she took where expired … they are ones that would usually be destroyed but she’s taken them,” he said.
“She came in while on annual leave [on one occasion] and took the sharps container, she took the dregs to ease her depression.”
Mr Morrison said while Longden was an intelligent woman, she “hadn’t been thinking rationally” at the time of her alleged offending due to struggles in her life.
In opposing the charges be dealt with under the mental health act, police prosecutor Sergeant Sean Thackeray said Longden worked in an industry where she held the trust of the community and needed to be thinking rationally at all times.
“This is a breach of the community’s trust, who put their faith in her as a senior nurse,” he said.
“The public would be rightfully outraged that her behaviour has drained already scarce resources from the public health system.”
Sergeant Thackeray said the “vast majority” of people go through depressive stages, and didn’t self medicate to treat these types of disorders.
“She’s someone who knows there’s help available and she’s someone who would have access to that help.”
“To say the [opioid addiction] disorder compromised her ability to make rational decisions needs to be weighed up against the fact she was able to hold down a job that required her to make rational decisions every day.”
While Magistrate McRobert said he too had concerns about Longden’s abuse of the community’s trust, he agreed with Mr Morrison that her life was “less than happy”, noting she had given up her own life to care for the child.
“It is sad but not entirely surprising that as a result of this she turned to opiate abuse to deal with her problems,” he said.
“Ms Longden’s behaviour displayed a person who was really at the end of her tether”.
While telling the court the matter was “extremely serious” Magistrate McRobert said he was very sympathetic to her situation, and granted the application for Longden to be diverted into the care and treatment of mental health professionals rather than dealing with her through the criminal justice system.
Longden, who has been suspended from her role at Wollongong Hospital, cried and covered her face as she left the court on Friday.