Suspended jail term for nurse who stole from patient

A 53-year-old nurse has been convicted of stealing sedatives and anti-depressants from a patient at a Derry care home. Cheryl Brolly, of Heather Park in Buncrana, was found in possession of the tablets after she was arrested at Culmore Manor for three counts of shoplifting. Derry Magistrates Court last Thursday heard Brolly, originally from Scotland, also swallowed a handful of pills in the Strand Road Police Station and refused to spit them out. Officers searched her and found two more tablets in her uniform that “should have been dispensed to an elderly person.” One of the drugs is prescribed to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. Defence solicitor told the court her guilety plea would have “serious implications” for her career as a nurse. He added: “That career is now virtually over. She has two grown up kids and is separated from her husband and wishes to return to her native Scotland to look after her ill mother.” The court heard Brolly had been caught on CCTV shoplifting from the Whitehouse Retail Group on three dates between August 12 and September 1, 2009. She was arrested at Culmore Manor on September 8 and taken to the police station where she was recognised as having been cautioned for shoplifting on a previous occasion under an assumed name. The court heard Brolly told police the tablets had been prescribed to her by her doctor, but later pleaded guilty to their unlawful possession. She was sentenced to two months in prison suspended for one year on each count. Passing sentence, the District Judge said Brolly appeared to be “making some inroads to her issues.” He added: “The responsibility of looking after her mother may help her. If you stay out of trouble for the next year nothing further will happen.”