A senior nurse who stole 212 codeine over 20 days for “severe toothache” has been suspended for a year.

Daniel Holmes, who qualified in 1996, admitted his crime straight away and accepted a police caution but has now been suspended for 12 months following a conduct hearing.

Holmes was working at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Ely as a senior practitioner when it was noticed that codeine was missing at the Urgent Care Cambridgeshire’s centre in May and June 2016.

In July he was given a police caution for possessing a Class B drug and theft from an employer having already sent an email to apologise for his actions and to resign.

In a Nursing and Midwifery Council conduct and competence hearing on January 20 it was heard that: “the panel had regard both to the need to protect patients and the need to safeguard thhe public interest, which includes the maintenance of public confidence in the profession and the upholding of proper standards of conduct and behaviour.”

“The panel determined that your actions fell significantly short of the standards expected of a registered nurse and that your actions breached the code.”

The panel accepted that Holmes knew his actions would have: “A devastating effect on the reputation of the profession, further, the panel noted that you have expressed genuine remorse and deep regret for your actions.”

Character witnesses spoke highly of Holmes, who was described as a nurse who was “well liked and well thought of.”