BC nurse swipes drugs at work and puts different meds back in the box

A BC nurse who swiped drugs at work and then put over-the-counter meds back in the boxes has been suspended for one week. According to a Sept. 13 BC College of Nurses and Midwives decision, the unnamed registered nurse was "diverting controlled-class medications" for their own personal use. The nurse then falsified the paperwork in an attempt to hide the fact they'd taken the drugs, and on occasion tampered with the packaging replacing the drugs with an uncontrolled substance. Following the events that took place between April and November 2023, the nurse was diagnosed with a causal relationship with the drugs. The nursing regulator didn't say what type of drugs the nurse was taking, but so far this year several nurses have been disciplined https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bc-nurse-who-pilfered-narcotics-left-patients-in-pain/it105765 for pilfering narcotics from work. READ MORE: HOUSING CRISIS: Penticton mother of two facing homelessness after eviction https://infotel.ca/inhome/housing-crisis-penticton-mother-of-two-facing-homelessness-after-eviction/it106489 In 2023, 11 nurses were reprimanded for swiping narcotics from work with punishments varying from having conditions placed on their practice to a three-month suspension for a nurse found to have been doing it for seven years. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bc-nurse-who-stole-narcotics-for-seven-years-gets-suspended/it96484 In the current case, the nurse was also caught snooping on patients' records, making them the third nurse this year to be caught looking at records they shouldn't have. Following the one-week suspension, the College placed conditions on the the nurse for the next three years. They will have to abstain from taking psychoactive substances and complete a number of counselling sessions. They will also be limited in handling controlled-class medications, only allowed to work day shifts and not be the nurse in charge. The decision said they will be supervised to monitor "activities related to controlled-class medications" and to see if there is a "pattern suggestive that drug diversion is recurring." No other information is given in the decision. The regulator said it is satisfied that the terms will protect the public. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .