Tribunal suspends nurse for eight months for professional misconduct

27 Aug 2018

A tribunal has suspended a nurse for eight months after he admitted to professional misconduct concerning misappropriated drugs.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) referred Mr Barry Dickinson to the State Administrative Tribunal (the tribunal) of Western Australia for professional misconduct.

Mr Dickinson admitted that on 28 April 2015, he:

• placed his hand in a sharps container contrary to the Hospital Occupational Safety and Health: Sharps Handling and Disposal Policy and the Western Australian Department of Health Misconduct Policy, and
• attempted to remove syringes containing fentanyl from a sharps container for his own personal use.

Mr Dickinson also admitted that on 18 May 2015, he:

• misappropriated fentanyl which had been drawn up for use in a procedure, and
• placed patient safety and wellbeing at risk by substituting saline for fentanyl which was to be administered to a patient.

The tribunal reprimanded Mr Dickinson and suspended his registration for eight months. The tribunal also determined that Mr Dickinson has an impairment and imposed conditions on his registration to be imposed on his registration after the conclusion of his suspension, including that he undertake urine and hair drug screening, have restricted access to certain medications, attend a treating practitioner and attend mentoring.

The tribunal’s decision is published on the tribunal website.