Up to 40 complaints a year are made against nurses

UP to 40 complaints ranging from allegations of verbal, physical or sexual abuse of patients and substance abuse by nurses are made to An Bord Altranais each year.

“They arise when there is an allegation that client care has been breached or where there is an incompetency and when someone is engaged in unprofessional conduct,” said Deirdre Hogan, deputy chief executive of An Bord Altranais, the nursing regulatory body.

The main body of complaints of unfitness to practice by reason of physical or mental disability were linked to substance abuse, she said.

“The majority of complaints in that area involve abuse of alcohol or drugs.”

Professional misconduct related to various forms of abuse of the patient, including verbal, physical or sexual, but they could also relate to lying, stealing or poor record-keeping, Ms Hogan said.

Complaints to An Bord Altranais must be made in writing by the relevant health board and its Fitness to Practice Committee has the power to inquire into the conduct of a registered nurse against whom allegations are made.

She confirmed that a complaint had been received from the South Western Health Board (SWHB) in relation to the activities of a registered nurse, suspended from work at Naas General Hospital. Yesterday, gardaí exhumed the body of a 70-year-old man as part of a criminal investigation into the allegations made against the nurse.

Ms Hogan said the matter had been referred to the board but that it was not in a position to make any further comment.

She said all matters to come before its Fitness to Practice Committee were confidential.

The committee meets every six weeks and nurses who are the subject of investigation are notified by the committee in writing and given an opportunity to respond.

It will then decide whether the complaint needs further investigation and if so, the nurse in question is called before a committee of inquiry. The case is heard in camera and the evidence given under oath.

The CEO of the health board where the nurse is employed will then take a case on behalf of its employee and An Bord Altranais will have its own legal representation. The committee has to decide beyond reasonable doubt if the allegation can be upheld and if it constitutes professional misconduct or unfitness to practice. It will then compile a report, which many include sanctions.

The board cannot change the findings of the report, but it does not have to accept its recommendations. It meets to vote on the sanctions and the nurse against whom the allegation is made is entitled to be present. At that meeting, the nurse in question can either be advised, admonished or censured, or if the board votes for his/her name to be either erased or suspended from the nursing register, the nurse has the right of appeal in the High Court.