Paramedic struck off for stealing morphine

Elisa Stevens worked for Yorkshire Ambulance Service as a paramedic from 2013

A paramedic who used stolen morphine while working - injecting herself in a hospital toilet on one occasion - has been struck off.

Elisa Stevens admitted taking the drug after a Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) investigation found 67 vials unaccounted for over seven months.

A Health & Care Professions Tribunal Service panel also heard she altered dosage information on a patient record.

In its ruling, the panel said she should be removed from its register.

The tribunal heard the vials of morphine went missing between February and September 2017.

'Just this once'

A YAS manager told the panel they were stolen by signing them out multiple occasions throughout a working day or when Ms Stevens was on a rest day.

Ms Stevens admitted she self-administered morphine while at work, once doing it in a toilet at a hospital, and claimed it helped reduce drowsiness.

In a letter to the panel, Ms Stevens said: "I know in retrospect this was wrong but I can only say that at the time I was … struggling … and persuaded myself it was just this once.

"And although it may be hard for someone outside my circumstances to see I was also concerned about giving patients the best and remaining alert."

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The panel heard Ms Stevens had suffered health issues and had, by her own admission, turned to morphine to relieve the stress she was feeling.

She was previously given a conditional caution in relation to the thefts and told to engage in a drug rehabilitation programme.

The paramedic, who qualified with the trust in 2013, did not attend the virtual hearing.

The panel found Ms Stevens should be given a striking off order and be removed from the Health and Care Professions Council register.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service said Ms Stevens left in July 2018 with a referral being made to the Health and Care Professions Council.