NURSE FINED FOR GIVING DRUGS TO PRISON OFFICER

A nurse who gave drugs to a prison officer had behaved in an
"extremely misguided and potentially very dangerous" way, the New
Zealand Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal says.

The nurse, who cannot be named as she is seeking permanent name
suppression in the High Court, was charged with professional
misconduct after the incident, in April 2005.

At the time, she was employed by a prison, the name of which is
suppressed.

The tribunal heard that a corrections officer had asked the nurse if
she could give him some painkillers for his wife, who had back pain.

His wife's doctor had not prescribed a high enough dose, and the
prescriptions were too expensive, he told the nurse.

The next day, the nurse gave him a packet of Tramadol, an opiate-based
painkiller.

The prison's health unit was in the process of changing from tablets
of Tramadol to liquid form, as the tablets had been identified as a
tradeable drug in the prison.

The nurse initially denied, but later admitted she had given the
officer the drugs, and said it had been an impulsive gesture she had
not thought through.

She had done it on compassionate grounds, and was now devastated by
what she had done.

The tribunal described the nurse's actions as rash.

"[The nurse] was, by her own omission, extremely foolish to hand over
such medication to someone that she did not know in circumstances in
which there was a potential for abuse."

The tribunal found that while her misconduct was serious, there was no
ongoing risk to the public, and there was no need for a period of
supervision.

It ordered the nurse be censured, fined her $1000, and ordered her to
pay 20 per cent of the costs of the inquiry.