A nurse who unwittingly attended a baby shower at a care home during Covid lockdowns has been suspended for failing to stop the event and notify colleagues they were attending.
Denis Baniqued, who was expecting his first child at the time, was unaware of the surprise event that took place for him and another colleague until he arrived at the Epping Gardens Aged Care Center in Epping, Melbourne’s north, in July 2020 .
Shortly afterwards, there was a Covid outbreak at the facility that claimed the lives of 34 residents.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) heard the nurse knew nothing about the shower and only stayed for five minutes.
He also asked nurses from his unit to return to work.
However, this week’s decision ruled that Mr Baniqued, a supervising nurse, should have stopped the party and notified his colleagues that he was present.
This is despite the fact that the subsequent outbreak was not definitively traced back to the event, although Mr Baniqued did test positive for Covid shortly afterwards.
VCAT ruled that the baby shower breached the restrictions and that nurses were ‘expected to comply with the law’, ‘act if something goes wrong’ and intervene ‘when a person’s safety is at risk’.
Ambulances are seen at Epping Garden care home during the 2020 Covid outbreak
Mr Baniqued made an emotional apology to residents’ families in a statement provided to the tribunal Herald Sun reported.
In the apology, Mr Baniqued stated that he had failed in his duty as a nurse.
“I have not once forgotten this mistake, which will haunt me for the rest of my life,” he said.
“The faces and names of the people I knew and cared for are still part of my memory and of their families who placed their trust in me and which I feel I have broken. ‘
The Tribunal recognized Mr Baniqued’s remorse and admission of guilt.
However, they found his behavior still amounted to professional misconduct and said he should also have told unauthorized people attending the party to leave and reported this to management.
A senior nurse at Epping Gardens has been suspended for a month for failing to stop a baby shower or report colleagues who attended during Covid lockdowns (stock image)
Mr Baniqued has been suspended for one month.
He has also been ordered to undergo further training in incident reporting and nursing leadership.