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06 Jul 2021
A tribunal has ordered that a nurse’s registration be cancelled after she misappropriated fentanyl from her workplace.
Between May and September 2016, Ms Jasmine Harris misappropriated approximately 55 ampoules of fentanyl from the hospital where she worked as a registered nurse. Ms Harris also failed to comply with statutory obligations relating to Schedule 8 poisons.
After investigating discrepancies in its drug registers, on 23 September 2016 Ms Harris’ employer made a notification to Ahpra about her conduct. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) took immediate action to place conditions on Ms Harris’ registration, including that she must not practice as a nurse, and referred her to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (tribunal).
Ms Harris admitted the conduct and that she has a health impairment. The tribunal found that Ms Harris’ conduct constitutes professional misconduct. It took into account Ms Harris’ ill health at the time of misappropriating the fentanyl and ordered that she be reprimanded and her registration as a nurse cancelled. The tribunal further noted that Ms Harris had not practised for over four years and that she would have to satisfy the NMBA of her fitness and suitability to hold registration if she applies again in future.
The tribunal’s decision was published on the Austlii website on 19 May 2021.