A nurse who put a laxative instead of sugar into her colleagues’ coffee has had a decision to fire her overturned by the Council of State, court sources said yesterday.

Two nurses were fired from Athens Third Social Security Foundation (IKA) hospital after they switched the sugar in the canteen with crushed laxative tablets.

Doctors and nurses at the hospital put the substance in their coffees, causing some of them to visit the toilet frequently and others to experience dizziness and shortness of breath. A disciplinary board fired both nurses for behavior unbecoming of an IKA employee.

One of the nurses appealed the decision to fire her and the Council of State ruled that she should have been suspended, without pay, for six months. The ruling, however, came almost 10 years after the incident and it is unclear if the woman is in any position to return to her previous job.