FILE PHOTO

Image Credit: PEXELS

A B.C. nurse who failed to cooperate with the regulator while under investigation has been suspended for four months.

According to an April 18 BC College of Nurses and Midwives decision, licenced practical nurse Ming Fung is also on the hook for $2,650 to cover the costs of the investigation.

The College found that the Vancouver-based nurse failed to respond to numerous inquiries and requests for information from the regulator and when he did respond his answers were not substantive.

Fund in turn accused the College of a "witch hunt" against him.

The case dates back to May 2018 when the College received a complaint from an unnamed person he was working for saying he'd sexually assaulted them and stolen a "significant sum" of money.

The patient is described as a "vulnerable elderly female."

READ MORE: Another B.C. nurse reprimanded for swiping narcotics

A police investigation was launched but was later discontinued and the file was closed.

No precise details are given about what Fung stood accused of doing, but an earlier decision from January 2022, states that when the College began its investigation regarding the allegations, Fung didn't cooperate.

He ignored correspondence, and if he did reply, he'd only answer one of several questions.

"(Fung) did not respond to the most serious allegation, that is whether he sexually assaulted (the patient)," the decision reads. "(Fung) did not address the allegations that he failed to maintain professional boundaries, or that he coerced (the patient) to withdraw her police complaint."

Fung told the regulator as the police had dropped its investigation he didn't see why the College was continuing.

At some point, he refused to speak to the College saying he had a "right to silence."

READ MORE: BC nurse touched patient's skin lesion, then colleague's face

"By his own comments, he did not cooperate with the investigation and did not respond fully or substantively to the seven requests for information which were made of him. He did not respond in a timely manner to requests for documents or information, if at all," the decision reads. "He did not respond in a timely manner to phone calls and correspondence. He cancelled a scheduled interview meeting on short notice. Overall, he was uncooperative, and his lack of cooperation hindered the investigator's and Inquiry Committee's ability to move forward with the investigation in an efficient and timely manner."

The decision doesn't say what the outcome of the investigation was but it appears the allegations of sexual assault and theft were not founded and dropped. The College confirmed that he is no longer under any investigation.

However, while Fung wasn't found to have committed the conduct he was being investigated for, the College took a very dim view of his behaviour throughout the investigation.

"A central feature of a profession’s ability to self-regulate is to conduct proper investigations of complaints and to impose discipline where appropriate. A registrant’s failure to cooperate with the College’s investigation undermines the public’s confidence in the College’s ability to regulate its members," the College said.

"It is extremely important that public confidence in the integrity of the nursing profession is maintained and that the public is aware that members are held to account for failing to uphold the applicable standards.

"(Fung) failed to cooperate with College and forced the College to expend more resources than necessary to ascertain the facts related to a complaint."

READ MORE: Another BC nurse suspended for snooping on medical records

Ultimately, he was suspended for four months and ordered to pay $2,650 in costs within three months. The College notes that $2,650 is half of the actual cost it spent looking into Fung's case.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2023