Nurse struck off after drug dealing conviction

Toby Bunting has been struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council

A nurse has been struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after being convicted of drug dealing.

Toby James Bunting, 52, of Park Road, Peterborough, was jailed for 30 months in August last year after being found guilty of possessing class A and B drugs with intent to supply, with a street value of almost £11,000.

At an NMC hearing earlier this month a panel found his fitness to practise to be impaired and issued a striking off order.

It found Bunting's conviction had breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute.

At Cambridge Crown Court last year Bunting was convicted of three counts including possession with intent to supply class A drugs, including cocaine, and one count of possession with intent to supply ketamine, a class B drug.

He was also convicted of being in possession of a taser and £800 in cash.

Protect the public

The nursing panel noted that the conviction did not relate to offences committed in a clinical setting, but that Mr Bunting "put patients in general at unwarranted risk of harm by providing controlled drugs to persons unknown", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"He should have been aware of the harm his conduct could have caused," the report stated.

"More specifically controlled drugs cause harm to those that take them and also generate acquisitive crime, which in itself results in people becoming victims.

"Regarding insight, the panel considered that there is no evidence of remediation nor a true understanding of the impact of his actions.

"The panel was not convinced he has demonstrated change to show that the conduct found proved is not likely to happen in the future."

The panel said it believed there was a "real risk of repetition".

The report said: "[The panel] considered that [Bunting] stated he felt pressured into the conduct and was afraid to mention other people who were involved in the incidents, suggesting that he still felt pressured and this might result in repetition.

"The panel therefore decided that a finding of impairment is necessary on the grounds of public protection."

The panel decided an appropriate sanction would be a striking off order and issued an interim suspension order to cover the 28-day appeal period.

If no appeal is made in the period then the interim order will be replaced by the striking off order.