A hospital worker was found asleep in an operating theatre after self-administering anaesthetic gas, a disciplinary tribunal has heard. Operating department practitioner Troy Butler admitted he was 'desperate for sleep' during his night shift and took the gas 'on impulse'.
The Health and Care Professionals Tribunal heard that Butler was working at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital in April 2023. His team was setting up for an emergency operation at about 1am when they realised he was missing. A colleague later found him asleep on a trolley with a sheet over him in the theatre room over an hour later, with the anaesthetic tube in his hands and the end near his mouth.
The colleague had to switch on the lights, clap loudly and shout at Butler until he woke up 'after at least one minute'. He was 'startled and appeared dazed', and it took '30-60 minutes' until he was acting normally again. Under supervision he was able to finish his shift, and the patient was safely anaesthetised and operated on.
When asked for an explanation, Butler said he was 'desperate for sleep' after working long hours with an agency and occasionally in a bar. He was regularly working 70 hours a week at the time and had reached 'breaking point'. He said he took a small amount of the gas but could not sleep so 'turned it up some more'. He told the tribunal his behaviour was 'stupid and selfish' and admitted he had put 'everyone at risk'.
The tribunal panel accepted it was 'an isolated incident arising from the strains and pressures in his life at the time' and issued a caution. The panel added that 'he is, by all accounts, a good and competent practitioner'. Butler has since reduced his workload and improved his work-life balance.
