Nurse’s ‘vile, despicable’ theft of dead man’s bank card

A nurse who had worked for four years at a Queensland nursing home stole and used a dead resident’s bank card, just days after he died.

A Queensland nurse who stole a dead nursing home resident’s debit card and used it to buy goods for himself and his family has been reprimanded for professional misconduct.

The card belonged to a Brisbane nursing home resident who had died three days earlier.

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal was told nurse Ariel De Leon Salvador had been working as a personal care assistant when he found the card on the floor of the staff room.

But when he pleaded guilty to stealing and two counts of fraud, Southport Magistrates Court was told the nurse had removed the card from the dead resident’s belongings in his room.

De Leon Salvador used the card five times — twice two days after he stole it and another three times on the following day — dishonestly obtaining goods valued at $246.

He was ordered by a magistrate to perform 100 hours of unpaid community service and pay $246 restitution for the 2020 offences, but the convictions were not recorded.

The magistrate described De Leon Salvador’s conduct as “vile, despicable, cold and calculating’’.

The Health Ombudsman brought disciplinary charges before the tribunal over his pleas of guilty to stealing and fraud and his failure to notify the Nursing Board of his charges and convictions.

De Leon Salvador, 49, who had worked at the nursing home for four years, submitted in the tribunal that the offending was opportunistic and motivated by his need to support his family.

But a tribunal judicial member said the theft was in the course of the nurse’s employment and he clearly knew the debit card belonged to one of the residents in his care who had recently died.

“The conduct involved a very serious breach of trust, not only that invested in him by his employer, but the trust of some of the most vulnerable people in his care and of their families,’’ the member said.

It could not be fairly described as an opportunistic crime because the nurse had held onto the card for days and used it on five occasions.

“Honesty, integrity, particularly when considered as an aspect of the paramount principle, are essential in health care providers,’’ the member said.

De Leon Salvador, who had tertiary nursing qualifications from the Philippines, a NSW TAFE certificate in aged care and a Bachelor of Nursing from Tasmania, was granted provisional nursing registration in July 2019.

De Leon Salvador resigned in May 2020 and in June that year, the Health Ombudsman imposed an interim prohibition order, limiting where he could practise.

He surrendered his registration in September, last year, and has been working as a disability support worker, but told the tribunal he intended to reapply for nursing registration.

On February 15, the tribunal ordered that De Leon Salvador to be reprimanded for professional misconduct and unprofessional conduct, but set aside the interim prohibition order.