Earlier this week, we reported on the case of Caroline Petrie, a nurse from Weston-super-Mare who was suspended without pay for asking a patient whether she would like to be prayed for. Following keen interest from the media, she has been reinstated by North Somerset Primary Care Trust.

Mrs Petrie, a Christian and mother of two, was suspended after her employers discovered that she had asked a patient whether she would like to be prayed for. Mrs Petrie had been told that she could face disciplinary action. On 28th January she attended a disciplinary hearing on the basis that she had failed to demonstrate a “personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity” by offering to pray for the patient.

North Somerset Primary Care Trust, in a statement issued on 5th February, said that they recognised that Mrs Petrie had been acting in the “best interests of her patients” and that nurses did not have to “set aside their faith” in the workplace, and could “continue to offer high quality care for patients while remaining committed to their beliefs”. The Trust also said that for some people, prayer is recognised as an “integral part of health care and the healing process”.