Nurse struck off for stealing from patient

A nurse who took a patient’s ATM card and PIN and used it to withdraw €400 was one of 10 nurses found guilty of professional misconduct by the regulatory body.

Antonette V Estrella took the bank card and security number in Sept 2010 while working in a hospital and used it twice on Sept 12, once successfully. Ms Estrella was found guilty of profess-ional misconduct by An Bord Altranais. Her name was erased from the nursing register which means she cannot legally practise as a nurse in Ireland.

Another nurse, Olga Helen Frances Yonet, who attended to a mother and baby while under the influence of alcohol, was also found guilty of professional misconduct. The fitness to practise committee said she had engaged in nursing when “unfit to do so by reason of your consumption of alcohol”. Ms Yonet was censured for her behaviour and conditions were attached to her name in the nursing register.