news
Fake nurse found guilty
Man posing as nursing
director charged.
A
man who falsely claimed to be a
nursing director at an aged care
facility has been fined $60,000.
The Victorian man was convicted in the
Ringwood Magistrates’ Court of charges
laid by the Australian Health Practitioner
Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
He pleaded guilty to four counts
of holding himself out as a registered
nurse, one count of unlawfully using
the protected title ‘registered nurse’ and
one count of unlawfully claiming to be
authorised or qualified to practise in the
nursing profession.
An AHPRA investigation into the
allegation revealed that the man had
claimed to be a registered nurse to land a
job as the director of nursing at an aged
care facility. He had never been registered
with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia (NMBA) and had never held any
qualifications as a nurse.
Booping their
snoot for life
Let more people keep their pets in aged care,
says expert.
A
researcher at the University of South Australia has called
for more aged care homes to allow their residents to
keep pets.
Dr Janette Young, a lecturer in health sciences, made a formal
submission to the aged care royal commission, calling on more
homes to be accepting of animals in a country where one in two
over-65s keep pets.
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agedcareinsite.com.au
He narrowly avoided jail time, as new
penalties for this type of offence were not
yet applicable.
NMBA chair Associate Professor
Lynette Cusack said the man’s actions
endangered the public’s confidence in
the profession.
“Integrity and trust are central to the
role of a nurse, and this individual’s actions
endangered this integrity.
“It is never okay to pass yourself off as
a nurse. However, doing so and being
in a senior position of influence and
responsibility as a director of nursing is a
serious abuse of trust.
“Nurses are always in a position of trust
when working in our healthcare services
but particularly in this case that trust was
abused by someone working with one
of our most vulnerable patient groups,
our elderly.”
Cusack added that had the man’s actions
not been uncovered, he “may well have
committed further offences”.
Magistrate David Starvaggi ordered the
man to pay AHPRA’s costs in the amount
of $4000. ■
Young pointed to the many health benefits of having a
pet, and said that for people in aged care, pets can provide
companionship, social interaction and a sense of purpose that
may otherwise be lacking.
“While 64 per cent of Australian households have a pet, a
2018 Animal Welfare League report found that only 18 per cent
of residential aged care facilities allowed residents to live with a
pet,” Young said. “This is despite all the evidence showing how
important the human-animal bond is to people, perhaps even
more so as they age.”
Many aged care facilities provide pet therapy or have robotic
therapy animals, but Young said this ignores the bond that occurs
between an owner and their pet.
“There’s growing global evidence of the negative
health impacts of loneliness, including a shorter life span.
Pets can help fill this void – often more so than trying
to create human social support networks, which can
be forced.
“From an economic perspective, there are also potential
health savings in allowing pets in aged care settings. Happier
residents cut both pharmaceutical costs and staff time (in
managing poor behaviour). In turn, these savings could be used
to fund animal carers.”
Young also believes that being able to keep pets can ease the
transition into aged care for an older person.
“Indeed, older pet owners can be forced to either relinquish
their pets to family members, animal welfare bodies or euthanise
them in the event of entering aged care.
“It is distressing enough having to leave their home and move
into aged care, but leaving a pet behind – or ending its life due to
circumstances beyond their control – only magnifies this stress,”
Young said. ■