Tribunal suspends nurse for six months

22 Mar 2021

A tribunal has suspended a nurse’s registration for six months after she took a prescription pad from her employer and forged a prescription. 

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) alleged that Ms Beth Helania Arielle Findlay, an enrolled nurse, had during September 2018:

1. misappropriated a prescription pad from her employer
2. forged a prescription for tramadol
3. presented the forged prescription to a pharmacist for dispensing, and
4. gave false and misleading information to the pharmacist.

An agreement was reached between the NMBA and Ms Findlay and, on 29 October 2020, the State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia (tribunal) ordered that:

• Ms Findlay’s conduct constitutes professional misconduct
• Ms Findlay is reprimanded
• Ms Findlay’s registration is suspended for 6 months
• conditions are to be imposed on Ms Findlay’s registration requiring her to undertake education on ethics at the end of the period of suspension, with a review period of 6 months, and
• Ms Findlay is to pay a contribution towards the Board’s costs of the proceedings.

The tribunal’s decision is published on the e-Courts Portal.