A Marton podiatrist who worked for six years without a practising certificate has been fined and censured.
A decision released by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal said Nina Williams knowingly practiced without a certificate while working at Rangitikei Health Centre in Marton.
After returning to New Zealand from Australia, Ms Williams gained registration as a podiatrist in 2004 and worked for a couple of years, part-time, throughout Wanganui and Rangitikei. She began work at the Rangitikei Health Centre in Marton in May 2006. Her annual practising certificate lapsed in March, 2007 and was not renewed despite Ms Williams continuing to work about one day a week until May last year.
The hearing was told Ms Williams worked mainly with elderly people needing palliative foot care and that she did not do any nail surgery or ACC work.
The professional conduct committee of the Podiatrists Board of New Zealand, which charged Ms Williams, said she knew she did not have a current certificate and that her offending was "deliberate and prolonged", though treatment given was limited in time and nature.
It said the certificate was an important measure for protecting the health and safety of the public.
Ms Williams did not defend the charge. She said she had not renewed her certificate for financial reasons. After the birth of her child she could not manage enough work to make it viable. On two occasions in that six year period she had made enquiries about renewing her certificate but it never eventuated.
Ms Williams described the experience as sobering and expressed shame and remorse.
The tribunal said the purpose of re-certification was "to ensure that podiatrists are properly educated and fully trained in ongoing requirements and practises so that the practise of their profession does not place the public at risk". Ms Williams indicated she would like to return to podiatry in October this year.
She was fined $2500, a further $2500 in costs and was censured.