Panel hearing summary 2020.0884

Decision of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia

Performance and professional standards panel 

Jurisdiction: South Australia
Date of Decision: 8 April 2020

Classification of Notification

Boundary violation - Other inappropriate relationship (non-sexual) Confidentiality - Inappropriate disclosure of patient information Documentation - Health report - Inadequate or inaccurate or misleading

Summary

The Board referred an allegation that the Practitioner failed to maintain professional boundaries with two Patients by forming a personal (non-sexual) relationship with them and in by doing so, breached relevant professional standards. The Board also referred allegations with respect to a failure to maintain patient privacy, providing false and misleading information to an Ahpra investigator and falsifying a patient record.

The allegations were proven (with the exception of making a false and/or misleading patient record) and the Panel found that the Practitioner had behaved in a way that constitutes unprofessional conduct pursuant to section 191(1)(b)(ii) of the National Law.

The Panel determined to reprimand the Practitioner under section 191(3)(c) of the National Law and this reprimand was to be recorded on the National Register for a period of five years. The Panel also decided to impose conditions on the Practitioner's registration under section 191(3)(a) of the National Law inter alia requiring the Practitioner to undergo mentoring in relation to professionalism and ethics, maintaining professional boundaries and developing a business model for practice as a Nurse Practitioner.