UK nurse disciplined for praying for elderly patients

Caroline Petrie, a committed Christian, has been accused by her employers in the UK of failing to demonstrate a “personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity”.

She faces disciplinary action and could lose her job over the incident, according to a report by Andrew Alderson in the UK Telegraph newspaper.

Mrs Petrie insists she has never forced her own religious beliefs on anyone but politely inquired if the elderly patient wanted her to pray for her – either in the woman’s presence or after the nurse had left the patient’s home.

“I simply couldn’t believe that I have been suspended over this. I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong. All I am trying to do is help my patients, many of whom want me to pray for them,” she said.

Mrs Petrie, 45, is a community nurse employed by North Somerset Primary Care Trust to carry out home visits to sick and elderly patients.

The incident which led to her suspension took place at the home of a woman patient in Winscombe, North Somerset.

“It was around lunchtime and I had spent about 20 to 25 minutes with her. I had applied dressings to her legs and shortly before I left I said to her: ‘Would you like me to pray for you?’.

“She said ‘No, thank you.’ And I said: ‘OK.’ I only offered to pray for her because I was concerned about her welfare and wanted her to get better.”

However, after the incident on 15 December, she was contacted by the trust and asked to explain her actions.

The woman patient, who is believed to be in her late 70s, is understood to have complained to the trust.

Mrs Petrie said that she often offers to pray for her patients and that many take her up on it. She either prays with them or after she has left their home. Initially, she was Church of England but she switched to the Baptist faith nine years ago. “My faith is very important to me,” she said.

Mrs Petrie had previously been reprimanded for an incident in Clevedon last October when she offered to give a small, home-made prayer card to an elderly, male patient, who had happily accepted it. On this occasion, the patient’s carer, who was with him, raised concerns over the incident.

It is the second incident – the offer to pray for a patient – that led to the disciplinary action. She was suspended from her part-time job, without pay, on 17 December.