A Prince Albert nurse who a regulatory body ruled violated Saskatchewan’s Registered Nurses Act with a Facebook post could be facing fines in the tens of thousands of dollars.
A lawyer for the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association, Roger Lepage, proposed Friday nurse Carolyn Strom face $30,000 in fines for her post about her grandfather’s treatment in a long-term care facility in Macklin, Sask.
He made the proposal in Regina during the sentencing submissions of Strom’s disciplinary hearing.
Lepage argued Strom should be fined $5,000 for her comments and $25,000 to cover the cost of the nurses’ association’s investigation into the post. The investigation costs have so far totalled $143,000.
Strom’s lawyer, Marcus Davies, said she should be registered for online code of conduct courses but not fined more than $1,000.
Strom was found guilty last October of professional misconduct by an SRNA disciplinary committee. The committee ruled she violated the registered nurses’ act when, in February 2015, she wrote about what she called the “subpar” treatment of her grandfather.
She violated the act by harming the reputation of nursing staff at the facility and undermining the public’s confidence in the staff, the committee ruled. She also did not use the appropriate channels to bring forward her complaints or conduct herself professionally when using social media, the ruling stated.
The case against Strom is not criminal in nature.
--- based on a report by Matt Young
