Nurse dies from secret painkillers addiction

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by Change | 27 Oct 2008

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The serious implications of harbouring unspoken drug abuse have been highlighted in a recent report.

Concern over how readily drugs can be accessed by medical professionals has been expressed following the death of a nurse after taking an overdose of painkillers and alcohol.

A court case has heard how Jill Hamm from Norfolk had had a secret drug addiction, only discovered when she was found dead in her home by a neighbour, according to the Norwich Evening News.

The publication relates how Ms Hamm was responsible for the supply of substances at the dental practice where she worked and stole drugs such as horse tranquiliser and ketamine.

She was clinical manager despite the fact she had been previously convicted for forging prescriptions and stealing drugs while working in a hospital.

Coroner William Armstrong told the newspaper: "The facts of this case are disturbing but clearly she should not have been in a position in which she had ready and regular access to drugs."

The Press and Journal recently reported ministers are calling for a review of drug abuse in the north-east of Scotland after crystal meth and liquid ecstasy were found in Grampian for the first time in a raid.

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