Following receipt of a complaint, a CRNBC investigation demonstrated that in December 2015 registrant Heather MacLeod (aka Wilhelmson) of Victoria, British Columbia:
Documented on the eMAR that pain medication had been administered to a resident on two occasions when the resident was not present in the facility, failed to attend to a patient in acute pain for over an hour, and was reported to have acted aggressively at the nursing station.
The next day she did not attend to the message notification on the nursing station phone. The message was retrieved over seven hours later by the oncoming nurse at shift change. The failure to review and implement the instructions in the message delayed surgery for a patient.
That same day, the Registrant failed to attend to an aggressive patient under her care who had barricaded himself in a room with another patient. The Registrant left the matter to the care aides to attend to, despite their requests for assistance.
The Registrant also left a pre-poured medication cup with apple sauce and nine medication tablets sitting on top of an unlocked and unattended medication cart while she spoke on the phone. A care aide stopped a patient from taking the medication. The Registrant later administered medication to the wrong patient. She reported the error. She later reported losing control of her emotions during an interaction with a patient.
The Registrant has voluntarily agreed to a four month suspension, as well as a three year limit on practise. Specifically, she will complete educational courses prior to returning to nursing practise and agrees to:
- work days shift only,
- not work as sole RN on duty,
- not act as Charge Nurse,
- not work in units catering to vulnerable populations (such as elderly or pediatric client populations),
- only work in a facility with supervision.
The Inquiry Committee is satisfied that the terms will protect the public.