Enrolled nurse who misappropriated medicine disqualified from applying for registration for a year

21 Dec 2023

A tribunal has reprimanded and disqualified an enrolled nurse from applying for registration for 12 months after she misappropriated Schedule 8 medicines and provided false and misleading information to the regulator. 

Between 25 and 27 November 2020, Ms Fiona Peters misappropriated a portion of an aged care resident’s Schedule 8 medicines for her own consumption. This had the potential to result in an inadequate management of the resident’s health and could have endangered their safety. On 28 November 2020, Ms Peters resigned from her employment at the aged care facility denying any misappropriation of medicine. 

Following the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) issuing a Notice of Proposed Immediate Action on 10 December 2020, Ms Peters continued to deny taking medicines intended for another person for her own use. However, on 24 September 2021 Ms Peters wrote to Ahpra and the NMBA admitting she had taken the medicine. The NMBA referred Ms Peters to the WA State Administrative Tribunal (the tribunal).

The tribunal found that Ms Peters had behaved in a way that constitutes professional misconduct and ordered that she:

• be reprimanded, 
•  be disqualified from applying for registration for a period of 12 months from 5 May 2023, and
• pay a contribution of $3,500 towards the NMBA’s costs of the proceedings.

The tribunal’s decision was made on 5 May 2023 and is available on the eCourts Portal of Western Australia.