OSWALD DEFENDS NAMING OF DRUG, DRINK ABUSING NURSES

(CP) - Manitoba's health minister is defending the practice of
publishing the names of nurses who are sanctioned for repeatedly
abusing drugs or alcohol.

Theresa Oswald has all but ruled out a request from the Manitoba
Nurses Union, which is calling for a new law to limit what can be
revealed publicly about disciplinary action taken by the College of
Registered Nurses of Manitoba. That's the agency that regulates
nursing across the province.

Oswald says the public's right to know outstrips the privacy concerns
of nurses who feel they're being unfairly humiliated.

"Protection of the public needs to be paramount," Oswald said yesterday.

"There must be steps in place with the colleges to ensure that
individuals can get support and get help and be able to recover ...
but once we get to an extreme situation, perhaps repeat offences and
so forth, then the protection of the public needs to be taken into
consideration."

The college regularly prints the names of nurses disciplined for a
wide variety of offences in its magazine, which is also available on
its website. The magazine includes details of what offending nurses
are ordered to do, such as undergo counselling.

In the case of one small-town nurse, her name was published earlier
this year after she was accused of breaching a previous order to
abstain from alcohol and drugs. The board ordered her to enter rehab
and attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Her colleagues, saying she
had been the victim of a public shaming, asked the union to step in.

The union agrees that the public needs to be warned about serious
offenders, such as those who abuse patients, but feels addiction
problems should be treated with discretion.

"What's to be gained by humiliating these nurses and naming them in
public?" asked union president Sandi Mowat.

Manitoba's approach is believed to be one of the most public in the
country. Ontario has open discipline for nurses accused of serious
offences, but there is a private, non-disciplinary process for
addiction-related issues.