Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Former nurse convicted for practising while suspended
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Former nurse convicted for practising while suspended

08 Dec 2022

Ahpra has successfully prosecuted Mr Edgar Dalisay for continuing to visit patients in their homes and provide nursing services while unregistered. 

Key points
  • A Victorian man has been convicted and fined $10,000 for practising while suspended.
  • Mr Edgar Dalisay had been suspended by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the tribunal) for seven months in 2020 but continued working as a registered nurse throughout the entirety of his suspension period.
  • Mr Dalisay pleaded guilty to the charge laid by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)

 

In July 2020, Mr Dalisay’s registration was suspended by the tribunal  for a period of seven months after finding he had falsified medical certificates and misappropriated and used a doctor’s stamp for the purpose of falsely claiming sick leave from two employers.  

Despite being suspended, Mr Dalisay continued to work as an agency registered nurse throughout the entire period of his suspension, accepting and working approximately 117 shifts where he provided nursing services to patients in their home.  Suspended practitioners cannot practise or hold themselves out as being registered.

Mr Dalisay did not tell the agency that he was the subject of disciplinary proceedings or that his registration had become suspended.  They only became aware after his suspension had ended and his registration had been reinstated in accordance with the National Law.  When they attempted to discuss the matter with him, Mr Dalisay resigned with immediate effect.  

Today, Mr Dalisay pleaded guilty to the ‘holding out’ charge in breach of section 116 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law 2009 (National Law)  and was sentenced at the Magistrates Court of Victoria at Frankston.  He was convicted and sentenced to a $10,000 fine and ordered to pay $3,131.50 of Ahpra’s legal costs.

Magistrate Tan remarked that the message that needed to be sent is that ‘these offences cannot occur if we want people to have confidence in the health system….. the dishonesty was not just one day, or one month, but the entirety of the suspension period’.

Ahpra CEO, Mr Martin Fletcher, said ‘Registration provides confidence to the community that a practitioner has met the required standards of their National Board. The national online register is always the best place to check whether someone is a registered health practitioner.’

‘Behaviour like this which jeopardises patient safety will never be tolerated.’

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Chair, Adjunct Professor Veronica Casey AM, said ‘The public rightly respects our registered nurses and their tireless work to care for the community. Working while knowing you’re not registered to do so,  shows a distinct lack of respect for the profession. As today’s outcome shows, there are repercussions for such actions.’

Anyone with concerns about whether an individual is registered can check the online Register of practitioners maintained by Ahpra or call 1300 419 495.

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Page reviewed 8/12/2022
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