A hospital worker was found in a pool of his own urine after a two-day binge on laughing gas in an operating theatre, a hearing has heard.

Jason Warner sneaked into the theatre on Saturday morning and was found the following Monday with the nitrous oxide gas mask still on his face.

He admitted hallucinating and taking so much gas he was “past caring”, the Health Professions Council was told.

Sophie Kemp, for the HPC, said Warner joined Castle Hill Hospital, in Yorkshire, in February 2007 and would assist anaesthetists during the sedation of patients.

He was supposed to be on call for the weekend of 26 and 27 July last year.

Ms Kemp said Warner had a “strategy” for flushing out the effects of the gas, if there was an emergency, by inhaling pure oxygen.

But he overdosed and was only found two days later.  

Following the incident Warner admitted his addiction to the anaesthetic gas and said he had used it prior to the incident, but never while on duty.

He explained that laughing gas helped him cope with problems in his private life.

In October last year Warner faced a formal disciplinary hearing and was sacked by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust a month later.

Warner admits stealing and inhaling the gas at work but denies his fitness to practise is impaired.

The hearing continues.

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