A registered nurse has been suspended for two months after she failed to chaperone a doctor who was on bail on indecent assault charges. On more than 13 occasions the doctor was allowed to see female patients alone despite being on strict supervision orders by the South Australian Medical Board. The registered nurse, who was supposed to be present during each of those consultations, later falsified records to show both she and the doctor had been obeying the chaperone order. The doctor was accused of indecently assaulting a 21-year-old female patient on July 22, 2012. He was arrested, charged and released on bail. The charges were later dropped by the Director of Public Prosecutions. While awaiting further legal proceedings the doctor was allowed to return to work on July 31, after accepting voluntary conditions with the medical board. He was only allowed to see female patients while in the presence of a chaperone and all the details of the interactions would be forwarded to the medical board. In August, 2012, the nurse agreed to be the chaperone for the doctor but over the next year, on at least 13 different occasions, she failed to attend the consultations. The nurse signed the chaperone log after the consultations and did not ask patients to confirm she had been present. The nurse admitted her conduct and told the South Australia Health Practitioners Tribunal that she was “extremely remorseful” for her conduct. The Tribunal heard that the nurse was dividing her time between a medical practice and a pathology group. The nurse also said she had no discussions with the doctor about how the supervision would work day-to-day. The doctor was “dismissive” of her attempts to broach the subject. On February 24, 2014, the Director of Public Prosecutions discontinued the charges against the doctor. The Tribunal ruled that the nurses actions constituted professional misconduct. “The Tribunal considers that the breaches of the undertakings, and the fact that there were repeated breaches, which also involved falsification of entries, amounted to a grave departure from the high professional standard expected of an experienced registered nurse,” Tribunal President Michael Ardlie said. Mr Ardlie also said there was a power imbalance between the nurse and doctor. The nurse was suspended from practising for two months, was fined $2,000 in legal costs and will be required to undergo further training.
