Castlemaine vet nurse Amanda Penrose ‘bullied’ at work before tragic end, coroner hears

Castlemaine vet nurse Amanda Penrose was “bullied” at work before tragically committing suicide, a coroner has heard

Castlemaine vet nurse Amanda Penrose died in September 2021.

Castlemaine vet nurse Amanda Penrose was “bullied” at work before she stole dangerous veterinary drugs from an improperly secured drug cabinet and took her own life, a coroner has heard.

Ms Penrose, 26, worked at Castlemaine Veterinary Clinic, where her boss, Dr Yvette Berkeley, described her as being good at her job and good with people.

Ms Penrose died by suicide in September 2021, and a lengthy coronial investigation into her death uncovered serious mishandling of dangerous veterinary medications at her workplace, as well as a hostile work environment.

In the lead-up to her death, Ms Penrose told her family and friends she was the victim of workplace bullying, and that she had been trying to find work elsewhere.

Castlemaine vet nurse Amanda Penrose.

A fellow nurse told Coroner Paresa Spanos Ms Penrose was “to some extent bullied by the practice owners”, while another said nurses tended to “cop it” from management.

Ms Penrose, an avid photographer, was described as “bright and bubbly although extremely sensitive”, and never formally complained about her treatment at work.

Coroner Spanos’s investigation — which was held without a public inquest — concluded dangerous drugs were stored “in clear breach” of strict regulations.

Only vets were supposed to have access to the drug Ms Penrose used to take her own life, but Coroner Spanos found all of the clinic’s staff had access to the key which unlocked the clinic’s medicine cabinet.

A brief attempt to restrict who could unlock the medicine cabinet led to frustration, and prompted clinic management to again give all staff access to the key.

Coroner Spanos found this was breached the rules put in place by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Pemrose was an avid photographer

Dr Berkeley said the clinic immediately changed its protocols around the storage and handling of restricted drugs following Ms Penrose’s death.

Dr Berkeley also told Coroner Spanos the clinic’s management now took better care of junior staff by devoting more time to pastoral care.

Coroner Spanos said Ms Penrose’s mother, Angela, had a “strongly held belief” the bullying of her daughter was a significant stressor in the lead-up to her death, and found “the available evidence does support a finding that this was so”.

But Ms Spanos said there were also other factors which eroded Ms Penrose’s mental health, including the death of her beloved border collie, Sapph, the breakdown of her relationship, and being traumatised by seeing a kangaroo hit by a car.

Coroner Spanos recommended the Veterinary Practitioners Registry Board of Victoria, the professional regulator for vets in Victoria, encourage its members to more closely monitor the improper storage and use of potentially dangerous veterinary drugs.

Veterinary clinic staff are over-represented in suicide statistics, in part due to their ability to access dangerous veterinary drugs.

She also recommended the Castlemaine Veterinary Clinic continue to properly monitor the use and storage of dangerous drugs.