A suspended nurse at the centre of a "no prayers" row has defended herself and told how it was just her way of saying "get well soon" to a patient.

Committed Christian Caroline Petrie, 45, was suspended and could lose her job for offering to say a prayer for an elderly patient during a home visit.

North Somerset Primary Care Trust (PCT) said she had breached a "personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity" and faced disciplinary action.

The married mother-of-two denies forcing her faith on anyone and said she was only trying to help by politely offering to pray for a patient in Winscombe, North Somerset, on December 15.

Speaking outside the Milton Baptist Church in Weston-super-Mare on Sunday, she said: "I'll keep fighting whatever happens and take them to court if I need to. I don't think I've done anything wrong.

"I was just trying to let a patient know that I was thinking of them. It's just my way of saying get well soon."

Community nurse Mrs Petrie, whose job is to visit the homes of elderly patients, said many appreciated her kind thoughts, regardless of their religious beliefs.

She insisted she had seen her supplications having real effects on patients, including one Catholic woman whose urine infection cleared up days after she said a prayer.

But one female patient, believed to be in her 70s, sparked the furore by complaining after the nurse visited her home and offered to pray for her.

Mrs Petrie said: "It was around lunchtime and I had spent about 20 to 25 minutes with her. I had applied dressings to her legs and shortly before I left I said to her, 'Would you like me to pray for you?

"She said, 'No, thank you'. And I said 'OK'. I only offered to pray for her because I was concerned about her welfare and wanted her to get better."

Mrs Petrie said she was confronted the following day by a nursing sister who told her the patient had been "taken aback" by the offer of a prayer. She said: "I said, 'I am sorry. Did I offend or upset her? The sister said: 'No, no. She was just a bit taken aback. You must be aware of your professional code of conduct. I would be careful'."

The following day, Mrs Petrie received a message on her home phone from her co-ordinator telling her that disciplinary action would be taken against her. She was suspended without pay on December 17 and had an internal disciplinary meeting last Wednesday. She expects to hear the outcome this week.

Mrs Petrie said yesterday: "There were lots of prayers being said in church for me today. Everyone's been really supportive and sending me lots of text messages.

"I'm just waiting now and hoping for the best. Being a nurse is such a rewarding job and I would hate to lose my current position, which works well around bringing up my family.

"The thing that worries me most is that if I'm suspended for much longer, I might not be able to work enough hours to re-register in April 2010. All nurses have to re-register every three years with at least 450 practised hours.

"We've got a mortgage and a family and it's putting pressure on all of us. I don't think we'll be going on holiday this year and, of course, the children still want their pocket money."

Mrs Petrie, a committed Christian from the age of 10 when her mother died of breast cancer, switched from Church of England to the Baptist faith nine years ago.

Nigel Coles, senior regional minister for the West of England Baptist Association, said: "On the face of things, I'm horrified. It's a pretty horrific decision to suspend a good nurse under these circumstances.

"I find the whole situation bizarre and find it hard to believe that she has actually broken any rules.

"I think she has been harshly treated by the health authority. It appears she didn't even offer up the prayer, she just gave the lady the option of a prayer.

"If she has been treated unfairly the Baptist Union will stand behind her."

Mrs Petrie admitted she had received previous warnings about promoting her faith at work. Last October, she offered to give a prayer card to an elderly male patient in Clevedon, Somerset. He accepted it, but his carer raised concerns with the PCT.

Alison Withers, Mrs Petrie's boss at the time, wrote to her at the end of November saying: "As a nurse you are required to uphold the reputation of your profession. Your NMC (Nursing Midwifery Council) code states that 'you must demonstrate a personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity' and 'you must not use your professional status to promote causes that are not related to health'."

As a result, Mrs Petrie, who qualified as a nurse in 1985 and has worked parttime for the North Somerset authority since last February, was ordered to attend an equality course.

Her husband Stewart, 48, yesterday condemned the situation as "political correctness gone mad". And Mr Petrie made it clear that children Nathan, 14, and Matthew, 10, were fully behind their mother.

The telecommunications engineer said: "It all just got completely out of hand. I can't help feeling this could easily have been resolved by common sense. But somehow here we are in this position. It's just political correctness gone mad."

A spokesman for North Somerset PCT said: "Caroline Petrie has been suspended pending an investigation into the matter. She is a bank nurse and she has been told we will not be using her in this capacity until the outcome of our investigation is known. We always take any concerns raised by our patients most seriously and conscientiously investigate any matter of this nature brought to our attention.

"We are always keen to be respectful of our patients' views and sensitivity as well as those of our staff."