NEWS HR
April 27, 2018
A 77-year-old man has died in hospital after being struck repeatedly by a fellow resident in a dementia residential home. The suspect, whose initials are P.S., is currently being kept in custody that can last up to 30 days. The victim, Z.K., died from a brain hemorrhage. P.S. assaulted Z.K. after an altercation over a TV remote control, “as they were unable to agree on which program to watch.”
April 23, 2018
Murray Hamilton, 59, has gone missing from the South Canterbury District Health Board’s Talbot Park residence in Timaru.
April 23, 2018
A student nurse was allegedly attacked after she left work at Christchurch Hospital. One has told of carrying scissors in her pocket for security while walking to her car after a late shift. The nurses union has lamented the lack of security near the hospital and a Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) member has described the ongoing lack of parking as “embarrassing”.
April 11, 2018
A mini tornado tossed a garden shed around the courtyard of a Taranaki rest home, damaging several buildings. Nobody was injured but at least one resident of the villas at the Maryann village in Stratford got a fright when debris from the broken shed landed on her roof sometime after 8am on Tuesday, AgeCare Central chief executive Neil Volzke, who is also Stratford District Mayor, said.
April 6, 2018
A male nurse who developed an intimate relationship with the wife of a mental health patient he had treated 69 times has been suspended and fined nearly $8000. The nurse, who was granted interim name suppression, was charged by the New Zealand Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal with entering into a relationship with the estranged wife of one of his mental health patients. When confronted with the allegations, he tried to get the woman to lie about the nature of the relationship. The nurse, referred to as Mr S, was registered in New Zealand and the United Kingdom and had been working for the district health board involved – it’s name was suppressed – for four years. His patient, Mr E, was referred to him through the mental health service. Mr E was formally separated from his wife Ms A at the time. They are now divorced. Ms A became involved in the treatment, and in all 29 sessions involved Mr S and Ms A, with Mr E only present for three of them. Ms A said her first private meeting with Mr S was because she was worried about her husband, who had started smoking cannabis, around their children. Mr E was going to join the meeting, but changed his mind. In the following months Ms A and Mr S began to meet regularly, sometimes once a week. The meetings were initially about Mr E, but the pair became closer and the meetings more intimate. They began kissing, and there was intimate touching. The misconduct carried on over an eight-month period, all while Mr S was providing clinical services to Mr E. After seeing emails between the pair, Mr E complained to the DHB he suspected his wife and former nurse were having a relationship. When first told of the complaints Mr S denied there was any relationship with Ms A, and stated he had worked hard for some years with Mr E. He said the investigation was “ridiculous” and that he was “shocked”. He initially said they had met to discuss Ms A’s university work, but later admitted the intimate relationship. At a meeting with the DHB, Mr E said he was very upset that through his involvement with mental health services his marriage had broken down. He placed enormous trust in his relationship with Mr S, for example phoning him when he was feeling down. He felt that Mr S saw Mr E at his most vulnerable and took advantage. He was curious why Mr S and Ms A were going for “2-3 hour education sessions” at the beach, but he did not question it, because he trusted Mr S. “Looking back now he feels manipulated and taken for a fool,” the tribunal said. The DHB’s clinical team leader said she noticed a decline in Mr E’s health during and after the investigation. He refused support from mental health services, and no longer trusted mental health professionals. “He went from being very trusting and open at the start to having a complete distrust of mental health services.” The tribunal found a “clear breach” of professional boundaries. “It is not appropriate for a health practitioner to engage in an intimate relationship with a member of the patient’s family even if the wife was estranged from her husband during that period. “The couple were still in a close relationship to the extent the wife was involved in seeking treatment for her husband and attending counselling sessions to assist in his treatment. “Mr S used his position to commence a relationship with his patient’s estranged wife, at a time when it should have been obvious this would risk harm to a vulnerable patient. “The harm caused to the patient is a stark reminder of the reason for the professional boundaries set for nurses and all health professionals.” Mr S was suspended from practising for 12 months from the date of decision, on November 20 last year. He also had to pay 25 per cent of the tribunal and Professional Conduct Committee’s investigation costs, amounting to $7893.
April 4, 2018
The NZ senior doctors’ union has a new team at the helm. Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), says a new National Executive takes office for a three-year term from 1 April. Canterbury DHB gastroenterologist and clinical pharmacologist Professor Murray Barclay will take over as National President from Tairawhiti DHB paediatrician Dr Hein Stander. The confirmed list of office holders and regional representatives on the National Executive is: • National President Murray Barclay (gastroenterologist and clinical pharmacologist, Canterbury) • Vice-President Julian Fuller (anaesthetist, Waitemata) • Immediate Past-President Hein Stander (paediatrician, Tairawhiti) • Region 1 – Julian Vyas (paediatrics, Auckland) and Andrew Ewens (emergency medicine, Waitemata) • Region 2 – Paul Wilson (anaesthetist, Bay of Plenty) and Annette van Zeist-Jongman (psychiatry, Waikato) • Region 3 – Tim Frendin (geriatric medicine, Hawke’s Bay) and Angela Freschini (anaesthesia, Tairawhiti) • Region 4 – Katie Ben (anaesthetist, Nelson Marlborough) and Seton Henderson (intensivist, Canterbury).
March 26, 2018
An ambulance officer was left shaken after being indecently assaulted by a patient she was caring for. The incident happened while the Hamilton-based officer was dropping the man at Waikato Hospital on Tuesday night. A 69 year old has now been charged with indecent assault and is due to appear in Hamilton District Court today. Police could not elaborate further on the details now the case was before the courts but it was understood the male patient allegedly grabbed the female officer’s breasts. The officer was in the ambulance on the Waikato Hospital grounds at the time. St John confirmed the female ambulance officer was assaulted while transporting the patient to hospital.
March 23, 2018
Outgoing Presbyterian Support Otago (PSO) chief executive Gillian Bremner was thanked yesterday at an event marking almost a quarter century at the helm of the organisation. Mrs Bremner was finishing up her last week in the role before departing for Botswana at the end of April, where husband Graeme had been appointed associate professor at a university in the town of Palapye.
