Shortage of nurses my arse.

Quite right. I had been prescribed Paracetamol for years to reduce knee pain. I still had it prescribed after both knees were renewed. Once the post-surgery pain had subsided I stopped ordering from the doctor and bought my own as necessary. When I ordered my prescription having decided to buy my own, the doctor's pharmacist asked whether I'd forgotten the Paracetamol so I explained and she nearly fell through the floor because she knew that few people cancelled drugs, preferring to stockpile them for no good reason.

That is correct if they are prescribed. But a simple pain killer does not need to be prescribed.  Even if you are in hospital.  Neither does a cough mixture. Or a nasal spray,  Or foo foo powder if you have sweaty balls, Just ask the nurse at two in the morning. . In this case prescribed means exactly what it say.  You cannot buy it over the counter. You can buy paracetamol over the counter.  Up to a certain dosage. You do not need it prescribed even in a hospital.  You may leave a thumbs-up for correcting your errors.

Sorry but co-codamol is available in two distinct strengths, one is 8mg codeine usually with 500mg paracetamol freely available without prescription over the counter when sold by a pharmacist who must question you as to other health problems that contraindicate use and caution you not to take for a prolonged period. I generally buy an effervescent version that is guaranteed to get into the bloodstream in five minutes flat.

There is a POM (sorry prescription only medicine) version which generally has 30mg codeine to 500mg paracetamol and these are indeed controlled, but readily available if asked for from a GP in the right way. As in, when the cellulitis flared up and the over the counter stuff failed miserably it became time to ask for the heavy weaponry.

While being treated as an in patient I have been given the lower dose codeine co-codamol, the A&E F1 quite correctly IMO deciding to see if the lower dose did the trick before resorting to the sledgehammer, so my personal experience tells me it would be entirely possible the stuff she took was actually an over the counter medication kept with the medicines of stronger content as you would naturally keep all such together

The article, you will note, is silent on this detail, and the other point I found noteworthy was the claim other nurses took these items. It seems there was a protocol to follow to do this legitimately as the article states she took the items without the necessary written permission which tells me there is a way she could have used them legitimately.

In my day the path lab first aid kit contained all sorts including over the counter painkillers and the first aid kit in my mums office in the doctors surgery where she was the receptionist and registered first aider also kept a stock of such but some jobsworth a few years back demanded all such be removed from office and factory first aid kits.

The problem here is that because over the counter medicines formerly in such kits are now not allowed in them, one has to access systems containing far more powerful stuff alongside over the counter stuff and hence all the fuss. If common sense prevailed and the demand over the counter painkillers be removed from first aid kits be ripped up and burned as it should be, this whole mess might have been avoided. But doubtless the little butlers in their peaked caps have something to celebrate now

Now she has a criminal record and no job and no home, me thinks we haven't had the full story.

That is not what you said.  You said all NHS drugs are prescribed. No they are not.  I have just given you examples.  

So now you admit thata nurse can prescribe paracetomol or pain relief whithout a doctor or consultants consent. So what's your beef exactly?