Dublin nurse faces misconduct claims over having crystal meth

A nurse working at a Dublin hospital yesterday faced allegations relating to the possession of crystal meth, and of ordering Sudafed using the names of various colleagues.

John Benedict Butalid de Lara, aged 45, worked as a staff nurse at the Royal Hospital Donnybrook from 2003 until 2014, the disciplinary inquiry at the nursing board headquarters in Dublin heard.

Mr de Lara from Ballyfermot, faces an allegation of professional misconduct relating to the possession of methamphetamine, or crystal meth, in March 2014, and of allegedly ordering Sudafed using the names of other colleagues in May 2013.

An ingredient in Sudafed, pseudoephedrine, can be used in making crystal meth.

The inquiry heard that on March 31, 2014, Mr de Lara was arrested by gardaí following a search of a flat on Marlborough Rd in Donnybrook. During the search, he arrived at the flat and put a bag of something into his mouth, which he later spat out at the request of a garda, the inquiry heard.

The substance in the bag was later identified as just over 2.4g of crystal meth. The following day, Mr de Lara was charged with possession of a controlled drug, namely methamphetamine; and unlawfully impeding a member of the gardaí.

The case was heard before the district court, where the charges against Mr de Lara were dismissed after he paid €1,000 to a charity.

As part of the nursing board inquiry that began yesterday, it is alleged that on three separate occasions, Mr de Lara ordered packets of Sudafed through the hospital pharmacy using the names of a number of staff members without their knowledge or consent.

Mr de Lara’s barrister said his client admitted the allegations relating to possession of a controlled drug, and of unlawfully impeding a member of An Garda Síochána but denied the other allegations, including those relating to the ordering of Sudafed.

Olivia Sinclair, who was nursing manager of the Royal Hospital Donnybrook at the time of the events in question, said she only heard about the garda investigation into Mr de Lara in July 2014, when a member of her staff showed her a newspaper article about the nurse’s appearance in court.

Ms Sinclair said she was not aware that Mr de Lara was ordering Sudafed using other people’s names until July 2014.

She said Mr de Lara came to meet with her in June 2013 and told her that other staff were talking about him because he had ordered two packets of Sudafed, one for himself and one to send to family in the Philippines. She said he had not come to her attention prior to that regarding disciplinary matters.

Under cross-examination, Mr de Lara’s barrister challenged Ms Sinclair’s claim that she only found out about Mr de Lara allegedly ordering Sudafed in other people’s names in July 2014. The barrister suggested that Ms Sinclair knew about it a year earlier, in June 2013.

Ms Sinclair emphasised the importance of trust in the nursing field, and said that after everything came to light, “the hospital just couldn’t trust John de Lara going forward”.

She added that the situation regarding the Sudafed was “very sinister”, especially coupled with the fact that he did not tell the hospital about the Garda investigation.

The Royal Hospital Donnybrook, just off Morehampton Rd, provides rehabilitation services primarily for elderly people, with approximately 160 places available for both long-term and short-term patients.

The inquiry is due to continue in February.