Woman fired after posing as nurse at Kingston, Ont. hospital
A Kingston, Ont. hospital has fired a woman who used forged documents to pose as a registered nurse for six months.
The woman used false information to claim to be a registered nurse, Kingston Health Sciences Centre said in a news release. She worked primarily in the Kingston General Hospital's post-surgical unit from July 22, 2022 to Jan. 27 of this year.
"This individual undertook significant efforts to fraudulently gain employment with KHSC including providing extensive forged documentation of their qualifications and credentials,” Jason Hann, executive vice-president of patient care and chief nursing executive, said in the release.
Hann said the fraud was discovered during a routine check with the College of Nurses of Ontario. The check turned up that the woman was not registered with the college.
"We quickly took action to end the individual’s employment," he said. The hospital has launched an investigation and has also notified the college and Kingston police and will fully cooperate with any investigation by those agencies, the release said.
The hospital is also reviewing its hiring practices to prevent such an incident from happening again.
“We are in the process of reviewing our hiring and onboarding process to ensure there are not gaps in our systems that would allow for another incident to occur in the future,” Sandra Carlton, the hospital's executive vice-president and chief human resources officer, said. “While we believe this is a truly unique scenario, we will use this as an opportunity to strengthen our processes to the fullest extent possible to ensure it will not happen again.”
Along with her work in the post-surgical unit, the woman worked some shifts elsewhere between Dec. 1 and Jan. 27, the hospital said, includingin the Admission and Transfer Unit (ATU) and the following other units: Connell 10, Kidd 9, Connell 9, Davies 5, Kidd 5, Kidd 4, Johnson 3, Kidd 3, and Connell 3.
The hospital's investigation will focus on the impact on patients and their families, the release said.
"The hospital is currently in the process of contacting individual patients and families who were cared for by the former employee, to provide more direct information on its findings," the release said.
“We understand the stress and anxiety this news may cause for our patients and other KHSC staff. We will work directly with the impacted patients, families, and staff to address their concerns,” says Dr. David Pichora, the hospital's president and CEO.
“We are committed to speaking with each individual that reaches out to us using the contact information that has been provided to the patients who have been impacted.”
Any patients that has concerns can contact KHSC’s Patient Relations team at PatientRelations@Kingstonhsc.caor 613-549-6666, extension 4158.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.