The facts, as far as we can tell are that the nurse had been told previously that she was not to bring her religious faith into her work. The regulations on behaviour for nurses visiting patients in their homes are fairly strict. Caroline Petrie worked on a contract that included the rule that she should not use her professional status to promote causes that are not related to health. Which was what she did.

The patient may not have complained formally to the Trust, but she certainly mentioned the incident to the next nurse who visited her. Having been told previously that she should not break this rule, Ms. Petrie ignored both the rule (again) and the warning.

In this instance her common sense and professionalism gave way to her religious beliefs. And a good health worker (or medical secretary, Lizzie - my wife, now retired, was a very good medical secretary for over 40 years) is perfectly capable of being efficient, kind, sensitive and caring without bringing religion into the equation. It would have been a similar outcome (suspension) if Ms. Petrie had been offering patients medical opinions on the patients' conditions - it's simply not allowed and you get into trouble if you do it.

It's not a question of "being kind" or the Trust going "over the top" - it's a case of a straightforward rule being broken by a professional who should have known better and who had already been warned about breaking it. So she was suspended pending an enquiry. Not sacked. She may well be reinstated as a bank nurse after the enquiry.