Identify a case from the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Board or AHPRA website which involved a registered nurse(s) who had their registration cancelled or suspended for greater than 6 months due to their involvement in an adverse event for a patient in their care..

NB: provide the reference and link to the case

Then

1. Provide a brief synopsis/overview (1-2 sentences) to summarise the case. NB: Tell us who the patient was – describe the clinical setting the patient was admitted in and what ultimately happened to them?
2. What actions/omissions on the part of the Registered Nurse(s) contributed to the adverse outcome for the patient.
3. Were there any other factors (e.g. systems-based) that contributed to the adverse outcome for this patient?
4. With reference to the evidence based literature (including relevant NSW policies) outline the actions that should have been taken by the Registered Nurse(s) to prevent adverse outcome for this patient.

Case Study

A tribunal has suspended a nurse’s registration for professional misconduct for unwarranted physical contact with a patient and falsifying a report of the incident.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) referred Ms Silvia to the South Australian Health Practitioners Tribunal (the tribunal), alleging that the following behaviour amounted to professional misconduct:

1. She placed her hand on, over or otherwise in contact with the face of a 98-year-old patient, who was then receiving treatment at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and who had presented with, among other things, a mild cognitive impairment, causing a bruise to the patient’s left lateral jaw.

2. She generated a false, inaccurate or misleading electronic report on the SA Health Safety Learning System database (the SLS Report) which attributed the patient’s injury to inadvertent contact with her bed railing.

3. She later implored another enrolled nurse to corroborate the false, inaccurate or misleading SLS Report that she had generated.

Ms Silvia admitted the factual basis of the allegations as outlined by the NMBA which asked the tribunal to send a clear message to the public and the profession that unwarranted physical contact with patients will not be tolerated.

This behaviour was aggravated by the falsification of the SLS Report and Ms Silvia attempts to enlist the cooperation of a colleague who observed the behaviour to corroborate her false version of events.

The tribunal agreed that Ms Silvia behaviour amounted to professional misconduct and imposed the following disciplinary sanctions :reprimand, suspension of registration with the NMBA for one year, three months and six days, expiring on 9 June 2017, and conditions on her registration requiring that she practise under supervision and carry out further education in the areas of managing challenging behaviours, managing cognitive impairment and ethical behaviour of nurses.