Bay nurse ordered to pay costs

A Hawke's Bay nurse charged with professional misconduct has been ordered to pay $13,500 and been de-registered.

A Hawke's Bay nurse who admitted professional misconduct for having a sexual relationship with one of his patients has had his registration cancelled and has been ordered to pay costs of $13,500.

The punishment is one of the most severe that can be ordered by the Health Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal, which heard the case in Wellington this week.

If the nurse, who has interim name suppression, wishes to reapply for registration, he has to be subject to two years' supervision by the health committee, and to take steps to show he understands the ethics and boundaries of his profession.

The patient had a number of significant mental health issues including anxiety and a history of self-harm. The charges related to a period when the patient - referred to as Ms NN - was 19 and admitted to the Hawkes Bay DHB Mental Health In-Patient Unit, as well as to a period after she was discharged.

Director of proceedings Aaron Martin told the tribunal that the nurse had abused his position of trust and taken advantage of Ms NN, the "most vulnerable of patients".

It was the most serious type of misconduct, as he had to know the negative impact that his behaviour would have on Ms NN's health, exposing her to the risk of further harm.

The nurse lost his job, surrendered his practising certificate and has not practised since.

He wrote an apology letter to Ms NN and her family after he was investigated.

Tribunal chairman David Carden challenged the defence's claim that it was a consensual relationship - not in the criminal sense, but with regard to the patient's mental state.

"I'm asking whether he really understands the vulnerability she had at the time, and how dependent she was on him to discharge his professional obligations properly."

Mr Carden noted that the nurse's apology to Ms NN was at the request of the Health and Disability Commissioner, rather than volunteered.