Vet nurse struck off after injecting himself with dog anaesthetic and 'passing out half-naked'

A veterinary nurse who was caught injecting himself with a dog anaesthetic has been struck off after a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) misconduct hearing.

Robert Drummond was described as an “extremely capable” veterinary nurse.

However, in a 2023 incident, he was found passed out half-naked in the foetal position after injecting himself with an anaesthetic called Alfaxan, which is commonly used for pets.

Mr Drummond, who had been registered as a veterinary nurse since 2017, worked as a locum veterinary nurse at Collier and Brock Vets in Irvine, Ayrshire until September 2023.

He had previously been spotted injecting himself while sitting in his car outside the practice.

Initially, Mr Drummond was allowed to continue working after the incident, with certain conditions attached, but at an RCVS misconduct hearing he was struck off, with the chair of the committee commenting: "Acting dishonestly runs contrary to one of the most fundamental principles of the profession.”

The RCVS heard that he was accused of stealing Alfaxan – a neuroactive steroid general anaesthetic that is commonly used for pets – as well as Lidocaine, which is also an anaesthetic.

The hearing was told he stole the latter from the practice in August 2023.

While Mr Drummond admitted stealing Lidocaine, he denied injecting the drug and said that the syringe in his car contained local anaesthetic and was for dogs having their nails clipped.

Two members of the public were in the car park at the branch and saw Mr Drummond in his car. They described him as “slumped in the driving seat with his head hanging forward and his eyes closed: he looked like he was asleep”.

They said: “He was holding a syringe, which he was injecting into his skin between his thumb and forefinger of his left hand.” One of the women decided to speak to him and ask if he was unwell, but Mr Drummond replied: “No, I am just having a wee sleep, I am fine, I am at the vets.”

The women went into the practice to report what had happened, which led to two investigation meetings.

A month later in September 2023, whilst in practice, Mr Drummond injected Alfaxan from the branch.

He admitted taking the Alfaxan and injecting himself with it whilst on duty. Staff at the practice described him as “unshaven, dishevelled and unkempt”.

During the afternoon, they heard a loud noise coming from the bathroom area and discovered Mr Drummond on the floor with his scrub trousers and underwear lowered to around his ankles, so that he was naked from the waist down.

The tribunal heard that he was curled up in a foetal position and appeared to be unconscious. While he was breathing, he was rigid and unresponsive and did not respond to any verbal communication, leading to an ambulance being called.

As he gradually began to regain consciousness and moved to pull his trousers and underwear up, a colleague noticed a syringe with blood on it under him.

When questioned about the incident, he insisted that he did not take the medication to get a “high”. He decided to stop working at the practice following the incident.

Mr Drummond appeared at the misconduct hearing charged with dishonestly taking Lidocaine from his branch, injecting the Lidocaine when due to be working, dishonestly taking Alfaxan and injecting it whilst on duty. All the charges were proven other than the injecting of Lidocaine, which the hearing said they could not prove.

Mr Drummond said in a statement: "I am fully aware that I should not have injected myself with the Alfaxan. That being said, I accept what I did was stupid and I was disappointed in myself and embarrassed by what I had done.

"I am enjoying nursing more than ever, and I hope I can continue to do what I love.”

A colleague said: "[Mr Drummond] is an exceptionally capable and dedicated veterinary nurse, one of the best nurses I have ever worked with. He consistently demonstrates empathy towards our patients, sound clinical judgement, and great attention to detail in hisnursing duties.

"He is particularly proficient in anaesthetic monitoring and post-operative care, ensuring that patient safety and welfare are always prioritised."

After the decision on the case was originally postponed with certain undertakings for Mr Drummond, he has now been struck off. The chair of the hearing said: "The Committee found Mr Drummond to be less than convincing, inconsistent and thus a not entirely reliable witness.

"The only reason Lidocaine had been mentioned was because that is what Mr Drummond said he took from the Practice. No tests were ever carried out on the syringe and thus the Committee could not be sure of its contents and thus what it was that Mr Drummond was injecting.

"The Committee did not consider it reasonable to simply infer it was Lidocaine as this would not reach the high threshold of the Committee needing to be sure. On two separate and distinct occasions, Mr Drummond took animal medication from the Practice that he was not entitled to take and did so dishonestly as he knew he was not allowed to take it.

"Acting dishonestly runs contrary to one of the most fundamental principles of the profession.

"The public need to know that they can rely on the honesty and integrity of the people to whom they entrust the care and welfare of their animals."