The case of Sarah Kuteh: what does it tell us about evangelism and spiritual care?

Dec 28, 2016 by Jill

by Steve Fouch, Christian Medical Fellowship:

Another story of a nurse sacked for praying with patients and talking about Jesus has hit the headlines in the last few days. It does seem to be a recurring theme!

The facts of the case are a bit sketchy. Sarah Kuteh, who has 15 years of nursing experience, was dismissed by her employers, the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, in August of this year. Her main case against her employer is that she was not allowed witnesses in her defence and was only shown brief, handwritten notes from colleagues rather than a formal complaint, and that the whole process was badly handled.

Her defence of her own actions seems to be that she had always asked permission, raising (rightly) religious belief as part of her patient assessment (it is part of the standard nursing assessment, and spiritual and religious care are part of nursing).

We have not seen all the details of the all the accusations against her (allegedly one patient complained she had given her a Bible, another that she had felt she was imposing her beliefs upon him/her, but this is only reported and second had information). Nor have we seen her direct defence against each charge, so it is hard to be certain who is in the wrong here. It is not persecution for sure, but it could be either an appropriate (if possibly mishandled) response to someone repeatedly going beyond professional guidelines, or an overreaction by her employers to reported accusations.

Either way, it shows that Theresa May’s assertion last month that ‘Christians should not be afraid of speaking “freely” about their faith at work and in public places’ is not as clear cut as it seems. When it comes to patient care, it would seem that there is still a grey area between appropriate spiritual care, freedom of speech, coercion and proselytism.

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