A Nigerian-born nurse, Chimzuruoke Okembunachi, has lost her nursing licence in Australia after a tribunal found that she repeatedly slept during night shifts at an aged care facility, thereby endangering elderly residents.
According to Daily Mail,the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal on January 20 ruled that Okembunachi’s conduct in March 2024 amounted to professional misconduct, leading to the cancellation of her nursing registration.
The 25-year-old began working at Hardi Aged Care in Guildford, western Sydney, in February 2024 but was suspended barely a month later before resigning from her position.
Tribunal proceedings revealed that between March 13 and 27, Okembunachi was the only registered nurse on duty during night shifts, overseeing three or four assistants-in-nursing and approximately 100 residents.
Evidence showed that on six separate nights, she slept while on duty and failed to carry out her responsibilities. On three occasions, patients missed prescribed doses of morphine as a result.
During a shift on March 21–22, an assistant-in-nursing reportedly switched on the nurses’ station light to wake her, only for Okembunachi to turn it off shortly afterwards and return to sleep.
On another occasion, she instructed an assistant-in-nursing to administer Panadol to a patient, despite the staff member not being authorised to do so, telling her, “It’s okay, sister, just give it to him.”
Her conduct was reported by two colleagues on March 27. The following day, she received an email notifying her of her suspension and inviting her to a meeting, but she resigned about 20 minutes later and declined to attend.
Okembunachi, who moved to Australia from Nigeria in 2018, obtained a Bachelor of Nursing Science in 2021 and was studying medicine at Western Sydney University while working at the aged care facility.
She told the tribunal that the incidents caused her significant stress and admitted that accepting the role was a mistake.
“In hindsight, I should not have applied for or accepted the position at Hardi. Working night shifts during the week was putting patients’ safety at risk,” she said.
She also admitted that sleeping on duty amounted to a failure in supervising staff and residents.
While the tribunal acknowledged her remorse, it ruled that deregistration was necessary, stating that her actions had the potential to endanger the lives of patients under her care.
Okembunachi will not be eligible to apply for a review of the decision for at least nine months. She has not returned to nursing but continues her medical studies with financial support from her father and a Centrelink Student Allowance.
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