By ANGELA GREGORY
A Whangarei woman convicted of pretending to have nursing qualifications says she was good at her job as a rest-home manager and never tried to deceive anyone.
But the Ministry of Health has evidence that Margaret Anne Barnes has represented herself as a nurse since at least 1988. Barnes was this week fined $1600 on two charges laid under the Nurses Act of falsely representing herself as a registered nurse.
The charges related to the 56-year-old woman's employment last year as a manager at the Ranburn Aged Care Centre in Waipu, and in her application in April for a nursing position at the Kamo Home Village.
Barnes admitted the charges when she appeared in the Whangarei District Court on Wednesday, but yesterday told the Herald she now regretted her guilty pleas. She said she had admitted the charges only to save a drawn-out and expensive legal battle against the ministry.
Barnes said she had never been employed as a registered nurse. "I have worked as a rest-home manager and you don't need to be a registered nurse for that."
A tearful Barnes said she had loved her work with the elderly and was devastated she would never be employed in the field again.
"I doubt I'll get any job now."
She said she had never been in trouble with the law before.
Barnes began nursing training in Masterton about 30 years ago but never qualified because she became pregnant. Over the years, she said, she had worked in health-related areas like medical reception.
Barnes said the rest-home work started about 10 years ago, and she produced glowing references from the Vincentian Home for the Elderly in Wellington and the New Vista Rest Home in Wanganui.
Her problems began when ministry staff noticed her name on documents relating to the Ranburn Aged Care Centre's hospital accreditation.
The ministry's senior enforcement adviser, Alan Freshwater, said a staff member recalled Barnes' name cropping up in the past over qualification queries.
"Back then it was regarded as not that important because rest-home managers did not need to be registered nurses."
However, Mr Freshwater said the Hospitals Act required a hospital manager to be a registered nurse, or to seek exemption to provide an alternative name as a registered nurse. In this case, the employer had understood Barnes was a registered nurse from the time she worked for him in Wanganui.
When Barnes was asked to produce her credentials, she resigned.
Mr Freshwater said she later implied she was a registered nurse in her interview for the Kamo job.
He understood Barnes had worked with the elderly as far back as 1984, and had evidence she had represented herself as a nurse since at least 1988.
He said Barnes applied for administrative jobs implying she was a nurse, often receiving higher pay as a result.
Despite the ministry's extensive file on Barnes, further charges could not be laid as the Summary Proceedings Act stipulated they must be laid within six months of the offending.
Nurse imposter loved work with the elderly
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