Nano Tunnicliff, the former NZNO president suspended from nursing for professional misconduct, says she “sincerely regrets” her conduct and losing sight of “some of the fundamentals of nursing”.
The ashamed former leader says she stood for a second term, despite knowing a complaint against her was being investigated, as she had been asked to stand again by members in her region and didn’t want to face questioning on why she was declining to stand.
Tunnicliff is currently working as a rental property manager and business manager for her husband’s painting business, and she said she was unsure at present whether she would return to nursing after her nine month suspension.
“I sincerely regret my conduct,” she said in a written response to Nursing Review questions. “I was wrong to let my personal circumstances, heavy workload, and my focus on other wider nursing issues cloud my judgement. I lost sight of some of the basic fundamentals of nursing.”
As already reported by Nursing Review, the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal recently lifted name suppression for the Nelson rheumatology clinical nurse specialist who pleaded guilty in August to professional misconduct charges.
The charges relate to actions during her term as president of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and were being investigated as she campaigned last year for a second term as president, with the post won early this year by Marion Guy.
The Tribunal has released an oral decision saying the misconduct charges related to Tunnicliff’s failure to keep adequate clinical records and notes on patients under her care along with the failure to notify a medical practitioner of “significant” health issued raised by one of her patients.
In a statement to members, released after name suppression was lifted, Marion Guy and the NZNO kaiwhakahaere and joint-leader, Kerri Nuku, said the organisation felt “let down and disappointed” that at no time did Tunnicliff inform the NZNO board of her situation.
Tunnicliff told Nursing Review by email that her former employer Nelson Marlborough District Health Board laid a complaint with the Nursing Council in June last year over her competence and that she told former NZNO chief executive Geoff Annals in confidence about the investigation and complaint. She said she fully participated in the DHB’s investigation carried out prior to her resignation and apologised for her conduct at the time.
At the time of her resignation from the DHB, effective from the end of June 2012, she said in a media statement that she had resigned to “pursue a better work/life balance” and to give the presidential role the focus it required.
She also pointed out the then-former and now current president Marion Guy had resigned from her nursing job early in her presidency, which “indicated the amount of time” the role required and that she had been had been finding it increasingly difficult “to juggle all the balls”.
Under the new NZNO constitution, both the president and kaiwhakahaere role are now full-time paid roles.
Tunnicliff was informed in August, by confidential Nursing Council letter, that the DHB’s complaint was being referred to a professional conduct committee (PCC) and in December was told the committee hearing would be held in March.
Tunnicliff said following the PCC hearing in early March she informed a senior NZNO manager of the impending professional misconduct charges being laid with the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
“I didn't personally inform the board of the charges and sincerely regret overlooking the very important need to do so,” said Tunnicliff. She said was “overwhelmed and stressed” by the whole process and was “very distressed and ashamed of the outcome”.
Tunnicliff added she was also aware that the complaint and charges were a private and confidential matter until publication but agreed with the NZNO board that it was important for members to be “open and honest”.
She said she stood again for the presidency as was asked to do so by Top of the South NZNO members and “I didn’t want to have to answer a whole lot of questions as to why not if I said no”. Also professional misconduct charges were not laid until after the PCC hearing in early March. She said at the time that presidential nominations closed for a second time, in early August, there was a complaint before the PCC but no date had been set and she was unsure what the outcome would be.
“(I) assumed that I was allowed to consider that I would be innocent until proven guilty because I still had to put my version of events to the PCC, this being the principle of natural justice”.
The Tribunal’s oral decision said the seriousness of the charges, and the need to send a “message” to the nursing profession about the “importance” of documentation and notes, lead to the Tribunal suspending Tunnicliff from nursing for nine months from August 20. It also censured her and ordered her to pay $6,500 towards costs.
“I have had letters, e-mails, personal visits and phone calls of support from former patients and nursing colleagues following the recent publicity in the Nelson Mail,” said Tunnicliff.
She said the misconduct process had been the “wake-up call” that was needed and it was her “sincere desire to pick up the pieces and contribute again”.
