Courts / Ireland / Report

Nurse manager took medication from work, forged doctor's signature and used patient data to get prescription

Summary

A clinical nurse manager, whose identity is withheld pending investigations, was dismissed in summer 2021 after admitting to taking prescription tablets from her workplace and forging a doctor's signature on blank prescription forms, using patient data. She claimed her dismissal was unfair, citing her admission, ongoing addiction counselling, and willingness to work in roles without access to medication. She appealed to the Workplace Relations Commission under the Unfair Dismissal Act. The commission found her conduct amounted to gross misconduct and that dismissal was a reasonable response. The hospital cited breaches of internal policy, the Misuse of Drugs Act, and professional conduct codes. The manager had been employed full‑time, earning €1,105 per week, and had begun a two‑year alcohol treatment programme, but the commission upheld the dismissal, stating the breach of trust was irreparable and the dismissal fell within the band of reasonable responses.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Nurse manager took medication from work, forged doctor's signature and used patient data to get prescription. Charges or matters: misuse of patient data; forging a doctor's signature; unauthorized use of prescription medication. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• January 2021 Other
• 2023-05-29 Publication

Why: The manager, who cannot be identified due to ongoing investigations into alleged fraud and misuse of patient data, argued that her dismissal was unfair because she admitted to the wrong-doing, had begun addiction counselling and offered to submit to regular drug tests. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Stage Charge Or Pretrial

Read the original CNI report