Nurse's appeal gets dismissed
Woman ousted over treatment of violent patient at Deline health centre in 2011
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, April 20, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A judge has dismissed an appeal by a former NWT nurse over the suspension of her nursing licence and a $10,000 fine.
Former nurse Madeline Heffel appeared outside of court last February in Yellowknife during an appeal of her suspension. A judge last week upheld her suspension and fine for her treatment of a violent patient at the health centre in 2011. - NNSL file photo |
NWT Supreme Court Judge Virginia Schuler ruled that the Registered Nurses Association of the NWT was within its rights to suspend Madeline Heffel for what it called unprofessional conduct while treating a patient.
The ruling follows a hearing held in February of this year.
Heffel's licence was suspended last year following an incident in 2011 at the health centre in Deline where she was treating a 15-year-old boy who had been pulled from Great Bear Lake after a suicide attempt.
Court documents describe how the hypothermic boy was biting, kicking, scratching and spitting at Heffel and two other nurses.
Heffel's lawyer, Austin Marshall, said she had covered the boy's face with an open hand and had turned his head away from her after he had spit in her mouth.
However, the two other nurses said at an earlier disciplinary hearing that Heffel had struck the patient with an open hand, covered his mouth, pinched his nose and said, "I'll stop when you stop."
The court also heard this all happened while an RCMP officer was in an adjacent room.
Heffel was eventually charged with assault but that charge was later stayed.
Despite the conflicting testimony, a nurse's association board of inquiry found Heffel had committed professional misconduct. It ruled that even though Heffel was not guilty of abusing the patient, she had failed to meet acceptable standards of nursing practice.
Heffel was also ordered to complete an advanced health assessment theory and practice course.
At the hearing, the court heard that Heffel did not complete the course and was contesting whether she should have to.
Outside of court Marshall said Heffel's stance was that she hadn't done anything wrong that day and that her conduct was not below acceptable levels.
Heffel said she wouldn't have done anything differently if she had to do it over again except for asking the other nurses whether they had experience in dealing with a hypothermic patient.
Heffel, who has been a nurse for almost 40 years, now lives in Calgary.
In her ruling, Schuler stated the facts of the case before rendering her decision.
"There is no basis upon which I can revisit that conclusion as it is not one that is palpably in error, rather it is a possible conclusion on the evidence," she stated.
She also ordered Heffel to pay the nurses association's court costs.
It's not entirely clear at this point how much that would be. After the hearing in February, Marshall said the case highlighted what healthcare professionals are up against in the NWT.
"I have concerns over this incident as well as recent ones at Stanton Hospital where healthcare workers have been forced to subdue violent patients," he said.
"I have a lot of sympathy for how those nurses feel."
