Cambridge nurse struck off after drug dealing convictions
He was found with drugs with a total street value of around £10,970.
A Cambridgeshire nurse has been struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after being convicted for drug dealing following being found with a large amount of drugs.
Toby James Bunting was arrested in Peterborough last year on suspicion of supplying drugs after being found with drugs with a total street value of around £10,970.
Police found mobile phones found at his home that had messages on them indicating that he was a drug dealer. They also found a stun gun taser on the kitchen table, with a depleted battery and wires disconnected.
Bunting was sentenced to 30 months in prison after being convicted at Cambridge Crown Court of three counts of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class A, including cocaine, and one count of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B, ketamine.
He was also convicted of being in possession of a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid/gas/electrical incapacitation device/thing, namely an electrical charge.
He was also convicted of being in possession of criminal property, namely £800.
An NMC panel held a hearing earlier this month (October 1) to consider Mr Bunting’s fitness to practise as a registered nurse following his convictions.
The panel found his fitness to practise to be impaired and issued a striking off order.
The NMC report said: “The panel found that Mr Bunting’s conviction had breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute.
“The panel noted that the conviction does not relate to offences committed in a clinical setting.
“However, it found that Mr Bunting put patients in general at unwarranted risk of harm by providing controlled drugs to persons unknown.
“He should have been aware of the harm his conduct could have caused.
“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 NMC report also said the panel had noted Mr Bunting had previous convictions in the USA for transporting a controlled substance in 1998 and possession of a controlled substance in 2000.
The panel said it believed there was a “real risk of repetition”.
The report said: “The panel considered that Mr 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 said his convictions were “fundamentally incompatible” with him remaining on the register.
The panel added that allowing Mr Bunting to continue practising as a nurse would “undermine public confidence in the profession and the NMC as a regulatory body”.
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.