An experienced Adelaide nurse has been banned from practising for nine months for giving a dangerous drug to the wrong patient and trying to cover it up. Ms Newblack admitted to the tribunal that she wrongfully administered intravenous morphine to the wrong patient on September 13, 2015. She also admitted she failed to report the wrongful administration, falsified records, encouraged two other staff members to stay silent and gave a false or misleading explanation to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Ms Newblack told the tribunal that she had been dealing with a family crisis and agreed to look after the patients of another nurse, who was going on a tea break. One of her new tasks was to administer morphine to the patient, referred to as “BZ”, in cubicle 33. “(Ms Newblack) went alone into cubicle 36 and not cubicle 33. She did not check the patient’s name to ensure that she was dealing with patient BZ,” the tribunal stated. “This was in breach of the medical administration policy of SA Health as applied by Flinders Medical Centre — the policy requires two qualified nurses to be present at the time of administration.
January 31, 2019
The Trustee for The Salvation Army (NSW) Property Trust is facing a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) before Fair Work Commissioner Johns in his Melbourne chambers (McLuckie).
January 31, 2019
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and Pioneer House Living Ltd have a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) set for hearing before Fair Work Commissioner Johns in his Melbourne chambers at 11am.
January 31, 2019
Ipswich City Council will waive a parking fine issued to a new mother as she underwent a 17-hour childbirth. First-time mum Rachael Betteridge-Lucky was fighting the $170 fine, saying she was in no state to be able to move her car from a three-hour zone near Ipswich Hospital.
January 31, 2019
A woman charged with the murder of her elderly mother has been granted a variation to her bail in Goulburn Local Court today. Barbara Mary Eckersley, 66, of Bundanoon, did not appear in court. Mrs Eckersley is charged with murdering Dr Mary White, 92, who was in a Bundanoon nursing home when she died in August 2018. Last year, police said in a statement before the court hearing that on Sunday August 5 about 9.35pm, they were called to an aged care facility in the Southern Highlands after Dr White’s death. In court today, Eckersley’s solicitor Sam Rowland applied for a bail variation. He also asked for a reduction in her reporting to police to two days a week. She currently reports three days a week to police. Police prosecutor Gabrielle Weston opposed reduced reporting conditions, saying they were “not onerous at the time”. “It should be left at three days a week,” Ms Weston said. Ms Weston said a toxicology report was still outstanding for the police brief of evidence. Mr Rowland said Eckerlsey, “a well-respected member of the community,” had complied with bail conditions so far and there had been no failure to report to police. Magistrate Beattie said that, given the police brief was still outstanding and there could be very lengthy delays, she was persuaded to vary the bail conditions. “I was persuaded to grant a bail variation back in October to make it three days reporting a week,” she said. “Now I am being asked to further reduce it. I note the opposition to this bail variation by the police and that a flight risk does still exist. “But I also accept that it may be some months before it clears this court and then there may be further delay before a trial may be ordered in a higher court. She adjourned the matter to February 27 in Goulburn Local Court.
January 31, 2019
Parents Without Partners Victoria has a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) to answer before Deputy President Hamilton in his Melbourne chambers (Humphris).
January 31, 2019
A disability support worker has called out rangers who fined him $130 for driving through a ‘restricted road’ to pick up an ailing wheelchair-bound man on a hot day. Mikey Loaniddes admitted to using a restricted road through Centennial Parklands in Sydney on the Australia Day public holiday on Monday. But he said rangers at the event should have shown some discretion instead of fining him for trying to help ease his friend’s discomfort.
January 31, 2019
An innocent woman was forced to give DNA samples, had her car impounded, and was summoned to court after a licencing database bungle. Rachel Martins, 31, was on her way to work on Tuesday morning when police pulled her over in Cockburn in southern Perth, for a random breath test. The disability support worker blew a zero reading but police checked her licence and told her it was suspended on medical grounds. ‘I was very confused and in tears as they took a DNA test, fingerprints and mugshot. I felt so humiliated as I knew I did nothing wrong,’ she said. Ms Martins was then told her car would be impounded and she would be issued a court summons on a charge of driving with a suspended licence. ‘I explained I had a medical assessment done every two years because I take medication for anxiety and depression,’ she said. ‘But I had done that and filled out he forms and was issued a driver’s licence that was valid until July. Why would I be issued a valid drivers license if it was suspended?’ Ms Martins said her protests fell on deaf ears as the database police looked up her licence on showed it was suspended. ‘The only explanation I received was that they did not know and that I would have to contact the Department of Transportation,’ she said. ‘All they had to do was call the Department and they would have verified my licence validity. It would have taken 10 minutes.’ Instead, Ms Martins was stranded by the side of the road with no way to make it to work, where a disabled client was waiting for her. ‘I walked away in tears figuring out who to call to pick me up and having to call work and my client who is waiting for me to care for him why I can’t come in,’ she said. ‘The whole ordeal emotionally distressed me, and it also affected my disabled client, who didn’t have anyone to look after him.’ Ms Martins complained to police and the WA Transport Department and police realised their mistake on Wednesday morning. ‘I received a call from a police sergeant in charge that day for the bus apologising and saying he would drop my car off,’ she said. ‘The least they could have done is filled it up with petrol for me!’ WA Police said it requested clarification of Ms Martins’ licence validity with the Transport Department, which ‘confirmed there was an anomaly in the system’. ‘In recognition of the error, an officer attended at the residence of Ms Martins to offer an apology and returned her vehicle,’ it said. ‘Ms Martin will not be charged and all her identifying particulars will be destroyed.’ The Transport Department blamed the misunderstanding on not every part of its system being automatically updated, which caused delays. ‘A subsequent review by DoT revealed that incorrect information regarding her licence status had been provided to police. This was immediately corrected,’ it said.
