WA nurse Gary Shane Stevenson deregistered for repeated theft of painkillers
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High-risk painkillers were "misappropriated" by the nurse 34 times. (Eric Norris Flickr/CC BY 2.0)
A former West Australian nurse has been deregistered for repeatedly stealing controlled medication, which led to patients being deprived of the pain relief they were prescribed.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's (NMBA) application to the WA State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) found Gary Shane Stevenson stole medication 34 times in eight months.
Tribunal documents show that between September 2021 and April 2022 Stevenson administered less pain relief than prescribed to multiple patients at Dongara Health Centre in the state's Midwest.
In other instances painkillers were removed from the safe and incorrectly recorded as being for a patient, but were not prescribed or administered.
The SAT documents state that in October 2021 patient JD went to the emergency department with severe abdominal pain, leading to a telehealth doctor prescribing morphine to be administered via a drip.
The nurse committed the offences at the public hospital in Dongara. (Supplied: WA Country Health Service)
The prescription stated JD was to be given morphine in 2.5 milligram increments four times overnight, but the records showed the patient only received three doses.
At the same time an additional 10mg of morphine went missing from the safe.
On another occasion Stevenson administered less morphine than prescribed to patient LW and later took an extra 10 milligrams of morphine from the safe, which was never prescribed or received by LW, and later forged the records.
The tribunal documents stated that Stevenson "misappropriated" 240mg of morphine and also took more than 100 tablets of a prescription-only painkiller commonly known as Panadeine Forte.
Senior position held
Stevenson held a senior position as clinical nurse at the Dongara Health Service and mostly worked in the emergency department.
He was frequently the highest-ranking nurse on duty and he was responsible for a monthly audit of the drug registers.
In April 2022 the NMBA received a tip-off about the mishandling of medication and that July Stevenson's nursing registration was suspended.
In October 2022 he resigned from the clinic.
Stevenson had been suspended for several years before being deregistered. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
In multiple instances Stevenson ignored a WA Country Health Service (WACHS) policy requiring a second professional to monitor the recording, administration or disposal of certain high-risk medications.
Tribunal documents state that Stevenson "made acknowledgements" of his misconduct and that his actions had been "below the standard" expected of a registered nurse.
Stevenson's nursing registration was cancelled at the tribunal on Tuesday after almost three years of suspension.
In at least two instances less morphine was given to patients than prescribed. (Reuters: Anushree Fadnavis)
The years of suspension were considered when handing down the disqualification and Stevenson cannot apply to re-register as a nurse for another 18 months.
He has also been ordered to pay $5,000 towards the NMBA's legal costs.
WACHS acknowledged the SAT's decision and emphasised that the "former employee" had not been associated with the organisation for years.
"The individual concerned has not been a WA Country Health Service or WA Health employee since 2022," WACHS said.
Written by Chloe Henville, ABC News.
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