Nurse struck off after thefts

A registered nurse has been struck off and ordered to pay costs of $2000 for stealing money and jewellery from residents of a Hamilton rest home.

Ohaupo nurse Jenna Bain was ordered to pay $1500 in costs to the tribunal and $500 to a professional conduct committee (PCC). Her nursing registration was cancelled by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal last month.

The PCC said her conviction for theft showed a "significant departure from the standards reasonably expected of a registered nurse".

She also "seriously breached that trust by stealing money and jewellery from residents in her care" and her behaviour had tarnished the public's confidence in nursing.

Bain had behaved dishonestly on several occasions so the PCC said it had no other option but to cancel her registration to protect the health and safety of the public.

Bain had already been found guilty of theft when she appeared in Hamilton District Court in June last year.

She was sentenced to 150 hours community work and ordered to repay more than $4100 stolen from the residents of Armourdene Rest Home.

Bain was left in charge of the home after the director went overseas in May 2009.

She denied stealing money while the director was away, even though she was the only person who had keys to a cupboard containing $1500 in cash which had gone missing.

After the director installed security cameras, she was found stealing an undisclosed amount of cash on 10 different occasions, as well as jewellery.

An audit of all the residents' personal accounts revealed a shortfall of $4168.

Bain did not appear at the tribunal hearing in Wellington last month. She did not intend to continue her career as a nurse, she said.

- NZPA