Wheeler begged colleagues not to say anything when she was discovered

Nursing and Midwifery Council heard she took gas in maternity ward

A midwife who snuck off to inhale laughing gas while on duty helping to deliver babies has been suspended for 12 months.

Susannah Wheeler secretly inhaled Entonox, while working at Tameside Hospital, Glossop, Derbyshire, and returned to her duties ‘staggering’ and ‘slurring her speech as though she was groggy,’ the Nursing and Midwifery Council was told.

The council was told suspicions about her behaviour were first raised in August 2012, when she was assigned a new patient while on a night shift.

Susannah Wheeler secretly inhaled Entonox, while working at Tameside Hospital, Glossop, Derbyshire, and returned to her duties 'staggering' and 'slurring her speech as though she was groggy', the Nursing and Midwifery Council was told

She could not be found on the antenatal ward and the whole maternity unit went searching for the missing midwife for up to an hour.

Wheeler eventually returned groggy and told colleagues she ‘did not know where she had been', before claiming she had been in the toilets for the duration.

She was later found in a maternity room with a tube in her mouth, sucking the gas, before she spread her arms and fell onto the bed.

A colleague then got into an argument with Wheeler as she refused to release the tube, before begging the colleague not to tell anybody about the incident.

Wheeler went missing again a year later.

A colleague phoned Wheeler to ask where she was and she replied that she did not know.

Three empty bottles of the gas were later found in Wheeler’s car prompting an NMC investigation.

NMC panel chairman David Newman said: ‘The panel considered that Mrs Wheeler’s actions in using Entonox gas and being unfit for duty on two occasions had placed patients at risk of harm.

‘Her actions were serious and rendered her incapable of carrying out her duties.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council was told she was found in a maternity room with a tube in her mouth, sucking the gas, before she spread her arms and fell onto the bed. A colleague then got into a tussle with Wheeler as she refused to release the tube, before begging the colleague not to tell anybody about the incident

‘It further considered that her actions potentially deprived patients of Entonox when it may have been required.

‘The panel concluded that Mrs Wheeler’s actions amounted to a significant departure from the standards to be expected of a registered midwife.

‘It determined that her actions constituted misconduct, in that they fell far short of the standards of conduct expected in the circumstances and those within the remit of the code.’

Mr Newman added: ‘The panel accepted that Mrs Wheeler had developed significant insight into her misconduct.

‘This, together with the genuine expression of regret and remorse, and the reflection she has shown, satisfied the panel that she had demonstrated a good understanding the impact her actions could have had on patients and the reputation of the profession.

‘The panel noted that Mrs Wheeler appeared to be an otherwise capable midwife and was provided with satisfactory references attesting to there being no other concerns regarding her practice.

‘Nevertheless, the panel acknowledges that Mrs Wheeler is currently unable to provide evidence that the circumstances leading to her misconduct have been fully remediated.

‘Mrs Wheeler’s own opinion is that her fitness to practise is currently impaired.

‘In light of all the information available, the panel decided that there was an ongoing need to protect the public.

‘Any immediate return to practice could place patients at risk of harm.’Wheeler, who has been employed at Tameside Hospital since 1999, admitted inhaling Entonox gas while on duty on two occasions.