CCTV footage showed her going into the controlled drugs unit, and putting the drugs into her pocket. She stole two boxes of nerve painkiller gabapentin and put an empty bottle of buprenorphine in the bin.
When she was helping a surgeon with dental work on a spaniel that day, the surgeon asked Johnson if she was all right, as the surgeon noticed she was sweating profusely and had to repeat herself on a number of occasions.
Gross misconduct
Johnson replied that she was “fine”, adding that she was “tired and had not got much sleep the night before”, as she had been “nervous about starting the job”, the report said.
But Johnson’s condition deteriorated and she “appeared to fall asleep standing up”.
Detailing the incident, the report said: “The respondent’s condition deteriorated further, to the point where she was almost leaning on the spaniel, asleep.
“The veterinary surgeon reported to other staff how the respondent had been acting strangely, appearing to fall asleep.
“They too noticed that the respondent appeared to be falling asleep over the patient.
“They saw that the respondent was supposed to be monitoring the anaesthetic, but that she was hunched over the patient and her eyes were almost closed.”
When Johnson was writing the anaesthetic record, the report said that her “pen was not touching the paper” and that the record was “illegible”.
The committee heard that Johnson’s condition worsened “to the point where she was almost leaning on the spaniel, asleep”.
Colleagues around her insisted that she went on a break, despite Johnson insisting that she was fine to continue.
She then reported that the 13-year-old spaniel had a normal body temperature, when in fact it was hypothermic.
Following the incident, Johnson was “very apologetic”, saying that she had “not slept well” and that it had been her birthday the night before.
She nearly fell asleep on a spaniel. Photo / File
She nearly fell asleep on a spaniel. Photo / File
‘I know I will never do anything like this again’
Her job offer was then rescinded, and the practice discovered that 10ml of buprenorphine, 100 tablets of 100mg gabapentin and 116 tablets of 300mg gabapentin were missing.
In a police interview following the incident in October 2023, Johnson said in a written statement: “I know I will never do anything like this again.”
She added that she was about to begin therapy, and that since the incident she had been “completely sober and a positive member of the community”.
But the following month she was found to have taken drugs from a vet charity People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) while working as a nurse.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons said: “The College submits that [Ms Johnson] has directly breached three of the most fundamental tenets of the profession: the promotion of animal welfare, the responsible use of drugs and behaving with honesty and integrity.
“It is also submitted that she breached the trust of her employer and risked placing her colleagues under suspicion regarding dishonestly taking the drugs.
“The College submitted it was significant that the conduct was sustained and repeated: it took place at four different practices over the period of approximately one year, it involved three different controlled drugs and it took place on five separate occasions.
“The drugs in question were all controlled drugs, and of a type which are associated with misuse and dependency.
“The conduct took place repeatedly despite intervention, warnings and promises that it would not happen again.”