Nurse claimed to be sending Sudafed to Asia
John Benedict Butalid de Lara, aged 45, of Ballyfermot, who worked as a staff nurse at the Royal Hospital Donnybrook in Dublin from 2003 until 2014, is facing allegations relating to the possession of crystal meth, and of ordering Sudafed using the colleagues’ names.
A disciplinary inquiry heard an ingredient in Sudafed — pseudoephedrine —can be used in the making of crystal meth.
Yesterday, clinical nurse manager Anne Dooley, who worked with Mr de Lara at the hospital for eight years, said she was alerted to him ordering Sudafed in other people’s names by a healthcare assistant. She met with Mr de Lara on June 30, 2013, and he admitted ordering the medication to send it to the Philippines.
A year later, in 2014, Ms Dooley said she was shocked when Mr de Lara appeared in court in relation to possession of crystal meth.
Barrister John McGuigan said it was within the knowledge of the hospital that Sudafed had been ordered in at least two people’s names — and the hospital had dealt with the issue.
Dr Katherine Patterson, pharmacist in the hospital, said she became concerned about a spike in the number of orders for Sudafed. She said it was “a significant cause for concern for me” that seven orders for Sudafed were placed on May 23, 2013.
Her main concern, she said, was regarding “rebound congestion”, a potential side-effect but also had concerns relating to Sudafed, namely its potential use in the production of crystal meth. She said while people may now be aware of the potential connection between Sudafed and crystal meth, thanks to certain television dramas, that connection was “only on the periphery of people’s knowledge” in Ireland in 2013.
Pharmacy technician Kae Torralba told the inquiry Mr de Lara attempted to place orders for himself and on behalf of other colleagues on three occasions in May 2013.
She cautioned him he could not order any more and he placed seven orders in the names of other colleagues.
Ms Torralba said Mr de Lara told her he wanted to send some Sudafed back to the Philippines. She advised him Sudafed was readily available in the Philippines, at a reasonable cost.
Ronan Kennedy, legal representative for the CEO of the Nursing Board, asked Ms Torralba: “Can you think of any reason why a person would order Sudafed here and then send it to the Philippines?” She answered “No”.
Several other former colleagues told the inquiry they had not placed orders for Sudafed in May 2013, and had not asked anyone to order the decongestant on their behalf. Care assistant Elena Tanig said she would never let anyone order medications in her name. Referring to Mr de Lara, she said: “He is a good nurse, a good friend, and good for the patients. I didn’t expect this would happen. I was really shocked.”
Mr de Lara was arrested following a search of a flat in Donnybrook. He arrived during the search and put a bag into his mouth which he later spat out at the request of a garda. The substance in the bag was later identified as just over 2.4g of crystal meth.
He was charged with possession of a controlled drug, which was dismissed at Dublin District Court after he paid €1,000 to a charity.
The inquiry continues on Friday.
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