A female nurse has been suspended and fined after opening a joint bank account with a male patient, accepting close to $10,000 from him and using this to buy a new car.
The nurse, who was granted interim name suppression, was charged with professional misconduct at the New Zealand Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal over the alleged misconduct between March 2009 and December 2013.
The tribunal's decision related to the charges said the arrangements appeared to have been entirely consensual and the patient had not complained about the nurse's actions.
Despite this, the case was considered "very serious".
"The tribunal considered the time over which the financial arrangements between her and her patient extended, and the number and magnitude of those dealings."