RCMP have been notified and Central Health has issued a statement regarding a recent incident involving impersonation of a Registered Nurse.
In a statement posted to Twitter late Wednesday afternoon, Central Health CEO Andree Robichaud announced that on December 14 they were notified by the College of Registered Nurses that a woman working for a health care staffing agency had been impersonating a Registered Nurse. The woman, identified as Lisa Driscoll, had worked some shifts as a contract worker with Central Health without a valid nursing licence. Robichaud says while Driscoll was once trained as a practical nurse, she does not hold a license as either an LPN or an RN in the province. She had used the licence of an existing registered nurse with a similar name.
Once notified, Central Health contacted Solutions Staffing Inc, the staffing agency responsible for hiring the travel nurse, the College of Licensed Practical Nurses and other regional health authorities.
Robichaud says Driscoll worked a total of 25 shifts at Lakeside Homes in Gander between August 19 and November 7 of this year. A thorough review was conducted of all resident care and relevant documentation from that period and confirmed that there are no reported negative impacts to the care of residents at the facility—however, two concerns with her performance unrelated to resident care had been raised and addressed.
Central Health will be reaching out directly to residents and families of those under her care at that time, and safeguards are in place to ensure that type of situation does not happen again.
Lisa Driscoll’s name is on a list of unregistered practitioners published by the College of Nurses of Ontario. The College has published the list of “individuals who are not nurses” and who may be “seeking employment in nursing or holding themselves out as persons qualified to practice in Ontario as a nurse, Registered Nurse, Registered Practical Nurse, or Nurse Practitioner.”
Lisa Strickland is listed, aka Lisa Driscoll, aka Michell Driscoll (Newfoundland).
The College warns employers to verify the membership status of every nurse they employ directly or through an agency.
Registered Nurses Union President Yvette Coffey
The Registered Nurses Union has long been concerned about the province’s reliance on travel nurses to fill staffing vacancies in the health care system.
Speaking before the latest news came out, President Yvette Coffey says the province’s use of travel nurses is actually making staffing challenges worse.
She says the province spent $8.8 million on travel nurses between January 1 and October. She says travel nurses working alongside nurses in the public sector make more money and enjoy greater flexibility. All that causes nurses to leave the system.
