A public health nurse who worked with young patients was struck off after her actions amounted to professional misconduct. Photo / NZME
A public health nurse who worked with young patients was struck off after her actions amounted to professional misconduct. Photo / NZME
A nurse who risked the health, safety and wellbeing of children in her care by continuing to work even though her practising certificate was suspended has been struck off.
Vaiola Ha’unga has also been censured by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal after two charges of professional misconduct against her were established.
The tribunal said, in a recently released decision, the charges encompassed actions considered negligent and which brought disrepute to the nursing profession.
The first charge related to Ha’unga working as a public health nurse in the Early Childhood Health Team at Starship Community Services, within the former Auckland District Health Board, now Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland.
There she provided Well Child services to high-needs families between June 2013 and May 2018.
She was found to have compromised the health, safety, and wellbeing of children in her care by failing to meet one or more nursing competencies including documentation, case management, and clinical competence, and failing to undertake one or more essential components of the Well Child/Tamariki Ora programme when ought to have known these were required.
The second charge related to events between October 2018 and March 2020 when Ha’unga practised nursing in Wellington when she knew or ought to have known that her practising certificate had been suspended, which amounted to professional misconduct.
Concerns were raised that Vaiola Ha’unga was not a nurse because she had “not examined a young patient, weighed or checked their chest or ears”. Photo / NZME
In June 2013 Ha’unga began working at the Starship Community with patients aged from 4 weeks to 5 years old and who were enrolled with the Well Child service.
In July 2017 concerns were raised over Ha’unga’s 74 assigned cases related to documentation, case management and aspects of her clinical care.
The following month she was placed on a Supportive Improvement Plan, aimed at identifying Ha’unga’s learning needs, the use of the Well Child Tamariki Ora Handbook and completing the Practice Validation Guides.
Concerns continued and in January 2018 the nurse was put on a performance plan and was required to have full and direct supervision with her client contacts from January to March 2018.
On April 3, 2018, Ha’unga was told of a proposal to stand her down because of serious concerns about her competence and conduct that had come to light.
Things did not resolve and later that month the nurse was stood down on full pay during an investigation.
A supervisor’s statement noted Ha’unga remained unable to “consistently apply knowledge to practice”.
The statement also noted that six children had never been seen by Ha’unga; three of them had not been seen for an extended period over one to two years.
Another caregiver reported concerns Ha’unga was not a nurse because she had “not examined the child, weighed or checked their chest or ears”, and had not referred siblings for secondary assessment when they had “significant medical-developmental and behavioural concerns”.
Ha’unga resigned on May 3, 2018 - the day before she was due to attend a meeting to discuss the outcome of the investigation, but soon after she began working as a special clinical nurse for the Pacific Health Unit for inpatients at Wellington Hospital.
On May 21 the Nursing Council was advised of the concerns around the nurse’s competency and professional conduct.
Two months later Ha’unga’s case was referred to a Professional Conduct Committee for investigation but she did not take part and instead provided a written submission and a copy of her CV.
In October 2018 she was told by the Nursing Council that her practising certificate was formally suspended, and she was reminded of this again in March 2019.
In February 2020 as the nurse director at Capital & Coast Health could not find Ha’unga on the Nursing Council’s register. She rang the Nursing Council and was advised the nurse’s practising certificate had been suspended in October 2018.
From December 2019 to March 3, 2020, Ha’unga was on bereavement leave. She then resigned from her position at Capital & Coast DHB and did not return.
