A nurse in a busy Vic hospital ED managed to renew registration after busted stealing drugs

A nurse busted for stealing drugs and injecting paraphernalia from a hospital managed to renew her nursing registration - twice.

Erin Buckland was working at Geelong hospital when she stole drugs including ondansetron, curam, pregabalin, olanzapine, celocoxib and dexmethsone.

A registered nurse who stole drugs, syringes, needles, digital scales and a reusable tourniquet - among other items - from a busy hospital emergency department, has been banned from nursing for three years.

Erin Buckland was working at Geelong hospital when she made off with the drugs ondansetron, curam, pregabalin, olanzapine, celocoxib and dexmethsone, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) heard.

The drugs and paraphernalia were discovered in her home on April 16, 2018 when police executed a search warrant, and in July that year she was found guilty of nine charges in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court.

An analysis of her phone had revealed text messages between Ms Buckland and other parties, enquiring if they wanted her to get them anything from work before she left.

A later search warrant on her home in mid-2019 uncovered a plunger and shot glass, both containing butanediol (GBH).

And on January 21, 2020 she was found guilty in the Magistrates’ Court of four drug-related offences and falsifying medical certificates.

Erin Buckland stole drugs from the busy Barwon Health Geelong hospital emergency department. Picture: Alan Barber. Picture: Alan Barber

But VCAT heard Ms Buckland led the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and state’s health watchdog, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), to believe that there had been no change to her criminal history when she renewed her nursing registration online on July 1, 2018 and again on July 1, 2019.

In finding Ms Buckland had engaged in professional misconduct this month, cancelling her nursing registration and disqualifying her from reapplying for it until March 8, 2026, the VCAT panel agreed with the nursing board that her “departures from professional standards were grave”, and took place over a lengthy period.

“The conduct demonstrated a concerning pattern of dishonesty, commencing with a sophisticated plan to falsify medical certificates and continuing with false denials to police, providing differing explanations for criminal conduct to police and in court and tribunal proceedings, and failing to be forthright with AHPRA about the criminal charges and the findings of guilt,” it noted.

A summary of the tribunal proceedings also noted the conduct was not isolated and called into question her character and fitness to practice, showing “a disregard for the standards and reputation of the profession” and a “continuing ‘laissez-faire’ approach to her professional notification and reporting obligations, even after receiving notifications”.

And while Ms Buckland had admitted she had not notified health authorities when she was charged or convicted - and had in fact said there was no change to her criminal history when she applied for re-registration in 2018 and 2019 - there were matters she had disputed, including how she came to be in possession of the hospital drugs.

Ms Buckland managed to renew her nursing registration, despite her criminal record..

“She claimed that the drugs that were found at her home were not stolen but had been inadvertently brought home by her. She said she worked in a busy emergency department and often had these drugs in her pocket for easy administration and sometimes she would go home and discover they were still in her pocket,” the tribunal noted.

“It was discussed with her that the panel members - who were nurses - were of the view that some of the drugs found at her home were not drugs that were used typically or frequently in an emergency department so it would be unusual to have them in her pocket. The board also pointed out that a whole box of medication and other large quantities were found at her home (and would be unlikely to fit into her pocket or be forgotten).”

Ms Buckland had also said she had misunderstood her reporting obligations relating to her criminal history and believed that others had already notified the board and so there was no need for her to do so.

She also said she found the reporting process confusing and “did not understand what was meant by ‘criminal history’.”

Given Ms Buckland’s registration was temporarily suspended on January 31, 2020, the total effective period of her non-practice would be more than six years, the panel noted.

She had also resigned from her Geelong Hospital employment in May 2018.

Originally published as A nurse in a busy Vic hospital ED managed to renew registration after busted stealing drugs