Nurses were left 'off their faces' after the elderly relative of a patient accidentally gave them a 'space cake' as a thank you gesture, a hospital worker claims.
Police were called to Warrington Hospital, in Cheshire, after staff who ate the red velvet cake appeared to be 'relaxed.'
The cake, which the grandad had taken from his grandson's 18th birthday party, was laced with cannabis - but he was unaware of his gift's Class B contents, The Manchester Evening News reports.
Bosses at the hospital admitted that one member of staff tried the cake but 'didn't experience any effects' but another staff member, who didn't want to be named, claims that three of four nurses ate it and were left 'off of their faces' and 'relaxed' by its contents.
“They were eating the cake and then the next minute the staff were all off their faces," they said.
“It was brought in by a nice old man as a thank you, but it was full of funny stuff and had them all relaxed.
“There was no impact on the patients whatsoever, but they all knew something was wrong, so the police were called in.”
Cheshire Police tested the cake and confirmed that it contained cannabis, making it what is known as a 'space cake.'
It’s believed the Class B drug was added to be enjoyed at a teenager’s birthday party, but his grandad unwittingly took it to the hospital when he saw there was some left.
The police investigation found he had no idea what was in his grandson’s cake and that he was shocked to discover the disruption it caused on the ward.
A police source said: “It was genuinely an error by all parties, even the person who put something in that he shouldn’t have because he didn’t know it was going to the hospital.
“Nobody knew that, and that’s why we’re not taking it any further.”
Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust say they conducted a 72-hour internal investigation into the May 27 incident but claimed the homemade gift had no impact on staff despite some of the cake being eaten.
They initially maintained the staff only smelled the cake but later admitted some of it was eaten after police confirmed it was consumed on the ward.
Kimberley Salmon-Jamieson, chief nurse for Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “A homemade cake was brought in to one of our wards in error by a patient’s family.
"The item was collected by Cheshire Police to be tested. An internal investigation has been undertaken and we can confirm that one member of staff tried the cake, but they did not experience any effects and there was no impact on our patients.”
Police say they’ve offered 'some strong words of advice' to the family and that the cake has now been 'destroyed'.
A Cheshire Police spokesman said: “Officers received a report on Monday 27 May that a cake which was suspected to contain drugs had been brought in by a member of the public and given to staff at Warrington Hospital.
"After an investigation, officers determined that the member of the public who had brought in the cake was unaware of the content of the cake as it had been left over from their grandson’s birthday party.
"Officers have now spoken to all parties involved and given some strong words of advice. The case has now been closed and the cake destroyed."
