Ms Sarah Kuteh, a 50-year-old mother of three, was suspended as a nurse by NHS in June 2016 after offering a bible to a cancer patient and encouraged him to sing The Lord is My Shepherd. The former nurse has lost her appeal for the 2nd time.
Ms Kuteh was fired from her job at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent, in 2016 for repeatedly talking to patients about her faith and handing out a bible, in breach of Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) rules.
A ruling, published last week by the Court of Appeal, stated that on June 3, 2016, a patient at the hospital had complained about Ms Kuteh’s conduct.
The court 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.
The ruling, which upheld a decision that she was fairly dismissed by the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, stated: ‘On 20 June 2016, the Complaints Department noted a call from a patient being treated for cancer concerning his assessment by the Claimant on 3 June 2016.
‘He had replied ‘open-minded’ to the question on the form concerning religion and alleged the Claimant had told him that the only way he could get to the Lord was through Jesus.
Sarah Kuteh 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.
‘He described the encounter as ‘very bizarre’ and ‘like a Monty Python skit’.
The court documents also point to a number of other incidents, in which Ms Kuteh told a bowel cancer patient in April 2016 ‘that if he prayed to God he would have a better chance of survival’
Another complaint, again in April 2016, came from a patient who said Ms Kuteh ‘spent more time talking about religion than doing the assessment’, and another, the same month, came from a patient who said they didn’t want to see Ms Koteh as they ‘didn’t like preaching’.
Ms Kute appealed the ruling of the tribunal in 2017, but failed in her bid to have her sacking overturned, but was allowed to work as a nurse again in July last year after her working restrictions were lifted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Ms Kuteh, however, appealed for a second time against her sacking to the Court of Appeal – saying the employment tribunal had ‘failed to consider the correct interpretation of the NMC Code and the distinction between appropriate and inappropriate expressions of religious beliefs’.
She also said the tribunal had failed to acknowledge that Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights – Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs – was ‘applicable’ and to ‘consider the fact-sensitive distinction between true evangelism and improper proselytism’.
Judges at the Court of Appeal, however, rejected the nurse’s most recent appeal, saying she was not unfairly dismissed in a ruling published last week, May 2019.
The ruling presided over by Lord Justice Gross, Lord Justice Singh and Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, stated: ‘The Respondent employer [Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust] did not have a blanket ban on religious speech at the workplace.
The Christian Legal Centre – which represents Ms Kuteh – said she is currently in discussion with her legal team to consider her next step.
Source: Dailymail
