MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Penguin News Update.

Headlines:
Nurse jailed for drug theft; Was speeder let off? £2m+ terminal rejected; Hughes replaces Christopher.

Nurse jailed for drug theft

A STAFF nurse who stole pethidine, a Class A drug, from the hospital has been sent to prison for nine months. Fourteen members of staff from the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital watched as Denise Schophaus, a South African nurse who worked on contract in the Falklands, was led away from court yesterday to began her thirty-four week sentence. She had pleaded guilty to three charges of theft of pethidine, a Class A drug, and four of forging entries in a drugs register. Ms Schophaus had maintained her innocence until Monday, the day listed for her trial, when she changed her pleas to guilty. She faced one additional charge of the theft of paracetamol to which she pleaded guilty from the outset. Mr Brian Cummings, a barrister who travelled from the United Kingdom for the case, presented the prosecution's facts to Senior Magistrate, Mr Nick Sanders. He said the offences committed by Schophaus had taken place on two separate occasions. The first occurred on August 14, 2003. The defendant accompanied Dr Richard Davies to attend to an injured fisherman aboard a vessel in Port William. Acting upon the doctor's instruction, Schophaus removed two 100 millilitre ampoules of pethidine from the controlled drugs cabinet. The patient was administered one ampoule of pethidine; he was later admitted to the hospital where he had surgery before being admitted to the ward. The second ampoule of pethidine was not returned to the controlled drugs cabinet, a requirement under hospital regulations. The following day, the patient was transported by ambulance to Mount Pleasant, accompanied by Ms Schophaus, to be airlifted out of the Islands. Although the ward sister, Janice Dent, had told Ms Schophaus the patient did not require pain relief the defendant removed two ampoules of pethidine from the drugs cabinet without asking another member of staff to sign as a witness to the removal. The following morning, she asked the ward sister to countersign the entry in the drugs register. Mr Cummings said that at first Mrs Dent refused to countersign the entry in the register, however she later agreed, although she had misgivings. A few days later, a senior staff nurse and the pharmacist Caroline Richards carried out a routine check on the controlled drugs cabinet and register. Mr Cummings said Ms Richards was "struck" by entries in the register which showed two ampoules of pethidine removed on August 14 were unaccounted for. She was also troubled that two ampoules had been taken for the transfer journey to Mount Pleasant on August 15. She relayed her concerns to the Chief Medical Officer and Ms Schophaus was suspended. An internal inquiry was held and a panel recommended the tightening of drug control procedures. Ms Schophaus was reinstated. Mr Cummings said that on New Year's Day a patient who had suffered serious burns was treated by Dr Barry Elsby who telephoned the ward requesting pethidine. One ampoule was taken from the ward and provided to the doctor. Ms Schophaus, who was on call, arrived at the hospital at this time. Twenty minutes later, Dr Elsby requested another ampoule of pethidine, half of which was administered to the patient. Once again, problems were later uncovered by the pharmacist. She checked with the ward and was told that the burns patient had only received 150 millilitres of pethidine (one and a half ampoules) on New Year's Day. However the register showed that two further ampoules had been removed for the patient and they were unaccounted for; they had been signed for by Ms Schophaus and another member of staff. On January 7 the Chief Nursing Officer, Mandy Heathman, outlined the facts to Ms Schophaus as she saw them and showed her the signatures in the register. The defendant alleged that someone had forged her signature. Mrs Heathman told Ms Schophaus that if she admitted taking the drugs for herself, she would be offered help and support from the hospital. However the defendant still denied the allegations. The police were informed and carried out a search of Ms Schophaus' home where they found paracetamol which had been prescribed to a patient. Defence barrister, Mr Mark Benson, who also travelled from the United Kingdom for the case, said his client had stolen goods valued at only £25. Continued on page 3.

In brief

Was speeder let off?

A NEW way to avoid speeding fines may have been discovered - not by slowing down but by booking a flight out of the Islands. On Wednesday, April 14, officers from the Royal Falkland Islands Police carried out speed checks on the Mount Pleasant Road. According to a Penguin News source, one driver, who was allegedly caught travelling at 69 miles per hour - almost thirty miles over the speed limit - was excused from prosecution by the Attorney General's Chambers as he was flying out of the Islands the following day. Penguin News contacted the Attorney General, David Lang, to see if such an exception had been made. However Mr Lang was unavailable for comment in time for our publishing deadline.

£2m+ terminal rejected

THE estimated cost of £2-3 million for the construction of a shipping terminal at New Haven has been rejected. At a meeting of the Falkland Islands Development Board on Tuesday, General Manager Julian Morris said the Public Works Department had prepared an initial estimate of £2-3 million for the proposed jetty. However he added that this was, "...probably not a viable option" and a staff member of the Corporation is preparing, "?an assessment of freight traffic around the islands as part of exploring other options."

Hughes replaces Christopher

DR JOHN HUGHES has been appointed as the new British Ambassador to Argentina. He will replace Sir Robin Christopher in November 2004, when Sir Robin retires from the diplomatic service.

Inside Penguin News Centre: Queen's Birthday parade Pages 8-9: Head of Stanley hostel retires Page 7: Your letters Page 5: Firefighters on the pull Page 2: Loss of Falklands legend