Hamish Alexander Lee Ambut: Registered nurse took medication from Liverpool Hospital

A nurse misappropriated medication for a friend while working at a hospital in Sydney’s southwest. When asked about the missing items, he lied to his supervisor and asked a co-worker to corroborate his fib.

A former registered nurse who worked at Liverpool Hospital has admitted he lied to his supervisor and pilfered medication. Picture: AAP IMAGE / Angelo Velardo

A former registered nurse who worked at Liverpool Hospital has admitted he lied to his supervisor and misappropriated medication for a friend who didn’t have access to Medicare.

Hamish Alexander Lee Ambut was found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct after his case was heard before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The Health Care Complaints Commission alleged Ambut attended Liverpool Hospital as a clinical supervisor and pocketed three small jars of Dexamethasone – a medication used to relieve inflammation – and a medical tube on March 5 2021.

Two days later, Ambut lied to a supervisor, and said he removed “a saline solution and a cannula” for the purpose of cleaning a nebuliser which had crystallised.

On a date between March 7 and 16, Ambut also breached confidentiality directions by his supervisor where he called a colleague and discussed the March 5 allegation.

A registered nurse stole from Liverpool Hospital. Picture: Angelo Velardo

Ambut, who became an Australian registered nurse in 2016 after obtaining a degree in the Philippines, also encouraged his colleague to corroborate his version of events and confirm, if asked, that he only removed saline solution and a cannula.

According to the judgement, Ambut’s reason for taking the medication was to treat a friend who did not have access to Medicare due to their visa status.

However, the tribunal found Ambut had “ample experience and must have known that the conduct was wrong” and his actions were “serious”.

“He must also have known that the administration of the drug was not without risk to his friend because it relied upon the practitioner’s diagnosis,” the HCCC judgment states.

A former registered nurse who worked at Liverpool Hospital has admitted he lied to his supervisor and pilfered medication. Picture: Angelo Velardo

Ms Bayley who appeared on behalf of the HCCC said there was no doubt Ambut “lied to his supervisor when he was questioned about the Dexamethasone by giving a false account [and] breached a confidentiality direction by discussing the incident with his colleague”.

When Ambut was questioned by Ms Bayley on his engagement with his colleague following the incident, Ambut responded: “She did not offer to lie for me. She asked me, ‘I’m going to tell her [Person A] what you said [a reference to the saline solution and cannula]. I have your back.’”

Ambut’s solicitor said their client’s actions were not planned but rather “momentary lapses of judgement which he regrets in their entirety”.

The tribunal ordered that if Mr Ambut had been registered, it would have suspended his registration for nine months.

The SWSLHD has been contacted for comment.