The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives has disciplined an unnamed nurse who may have risked the safety of patients, other workers and themselves in the midst of a health crisis in 2021.
On June 17, a college inquiry committee panel approved an agreement with a nurse to deal with a July 15, 2021 situation it called “a critical incident.”
“Fortunately, the incident was resolved without harm to the registrant, staff, or patients,” the panel said in a public notice. “The registrant has since engaged in treatment to address the health condition that was causally linked to the incident.”
As a result, the college has put conditions on the nurse’s practice for three years. Those include:
• regular reports from treating physicians regarding compliance with treatment recommendations;
• disclosure of treatment recommendations to relevant employer representatives; and,
• limits on their registration to provide appropriate support for them on their return to work.
The college has withheld the nurse’s name under B.C.’s Health Professions Act for the purposes of not identifying a college registrant or their personal health information with regard to the condition that impaired their ability to practice nursing or midwifery.
The college is currently one of 18 regulatory bodies empowered under the Health Professions Act to regulate health professions in B.C. It regulates the practice of four distinct professions: nursing, practical nursing, psychiatric nursing and midwifery.
Similar legislation in other self-regulated areas such as the legal and notary public professions also allows citizens to know about discipline issues in the public interest.
“The inquiry committee is satisfied that the terms will protect the public,” the college said.
