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Three nurses have been struck off after stealing drugs from the hospitals they worked at.
The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal released it decisions to strike the nurses off last week after hearings last month in Wellington.
Bruce William Hewson, a citizen of Canada who has returned home, stole drugs, including morphine and fentanyl, from Gisborne hospital last year.
He had been taking the vials from a drug safe, filing the tops off them and removing part of the drug with a syringe.
He would then return the vials to ensure the integrity of the inventory and inject himself in the buttocks with the drug.
Hewson was convicted and fined $900 on three drugs charges in October last year in Gisborne District Court.
The tribunal said in its report the offences were carried out in a way which could have affected patients receiving the correct dose medication and there was a potential safety issue.
Hewson's offending was a serious breach of trust, it said.
The tribunal cancelled Hewson's registration and ordered him to pay costs of $1617.25.
It said it would alert the relevant Canadian authorities of its decision.
Dan Erik Hansson was convicted in Tauranga District Court in October last year of stealing drugs from Tauranga hospital.
In December he was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay reparation of $3148 .
Hansson had taken 12,000 micrograms of fentanyl - a drug estimated to be 80 times more potent than morphine - for his own use over a seven month period.
He had taken the drugs from a drug safe by signing the register using names of his medical colleagues and falsifying the entries by naming deceased, discharged and current patients.
The tribunal said it was clear Hansson was a drug addict, who abused his employment position to steal drugs, by misusing colleagues and patients' names.
"Such conduct is obviously illegal, immoral, unethical and dishonest, and undoubtedly reflects adversely on his fitness to practise."
The tribunal cancelled Hansson's registration and ordered him to pay $250 costs.
Megan Claire Adair was convicted on two charges of stealing drugs in Wanganui District Court in December 2004 and sentenced to 100 hours' community work.
Adair had taken 20mg of morphine in December 2003 from Good Health Wanganui.
She had completed the drugs register but failed to give the drugs to the patient listed on it and kept them for her own use.
The tribunal said in its report Adair's theft was a breach of trust, which led to all the workers in her ward being brought under suspicion.
Her conduct was illegal and immoral and reflected adversely on her fitness to practise, it said.
The tribunal cancelled her registration as an enrolled nurse and ordered her to pay $1515.18 costs.
- NZPA
