Investigation results: Nurse sexually harassed patient in hospital

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An investigation by the Deputy Commissioner for Health and Disability has found that a nurse sexually assaulted a hospital patient.

Vanessa Caldwell released the results of her investigation into the incident on Monday and referred the nurse to the procedural director.

She also found that Health New Zealand/Te Whau Ora had inadequately addressed the patient’s complaint.

Dr. Cardwell said the patient, who was admitted to the hospital with an injury, was sexually assaulted in her sleep by a nurse on the second night of her stay.

The patient confronted the nurse in the presence of other staff members and filed a formal report with the police and the hospital the next day.

Cardwell found the nurse had breached the Health and Disability Services Consumer Rights Code.

She also criticized Health New Zealand for failing to acknowledge the patient’s complaint, failing to update her on the progress of its own investigation and failing to apologize until the patient made another complaint two years later.

She said these actions compounded the harm suffered by the patient and also constituted a breach of the code.

The Deputy Commissioner has recommended that the case be used as a basis for developing education and training for hospital staff on the appropriate handling of crime reports, reportable events and complaint management.

Cardwell has also recommended that the incident be reported to the Health Quality and Safety Commission.

Health New Zealand Chief Clinical Officer Richard Sullivan apologized to the patient and her whanau for the breach of trust and emotional distress they had suffered.

The nurse involved was no longer employed by Health New Zealand.

“We take the safety and well-being of patients very seriously. Everyone who uses our services and hospitals has the right to feel safe and supported and it is unacceptable for any patient in our care to be caused harm or suffering.”

“We accept the Health and Disability Commissioner’s findings and comments and recognize that we could have done more for this patient and whānau.”

Dr. Sullivan said all complaints were taken seriously and this case was reported to police.

“Following this event, we also conducted an internal review to examine our processes and identify what we could have done better.

“The findings from our review are consistent with the findings emerging from the HDC review. All of the HDC’s recommendations are currently being implemented and we will report to the HDC on compliance with its recommendations.”

Sullivan said Health New Zealand remained committed to ensuring safe supply.

“We are confident that the vast majority of our patients receive safe, timely and high quality services, and we are continually evaluating how we can improve the way we support and care for our patients.”