A nursing home matron who gave drugs to dying patients without their doctors' permission will not be struck off.

A disciplinary committee of the UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting found Junia Woolgar guilty of administering controlled drugs to seven patients without written authority in 1997.

She also failed to maintain adequate care records for five patients and, in one case, falsified them while working at Melrose Nursing Home in Wykeham Road, Worthing. She has since left that job.

However, she was cleared of serious charges of withholding fluids from terminally-ill patients, handling two patients roughly while fitting catheters and causing distress to three patients during procedures.

The committee found her guilty of misconduct but stopped short of removing her from the nursing register.

Instead it ordered she be given a strict caution as to her future conduct to remain on her confidential files for five years.

Chairman Alison Norman said the committee had been impressed by Miss Woolgar's mitigation and did not consider her a danger.

During the hearing, Miss Woolgar, 50, said she had a qualification in palliative medicine and often knew more about pain relief for terminally-ill patients than their own GP.

She had sometimes increased dosages of painkillers following phone conversations with doctors.

It had never occurred to her that the GP concerned had not then issued a prescription for the variation in dosage.

She had "a philosophy of care" involving specialised treatment for dying patients which included treating symptoms as they arose.