Imelda Wright appears in a Facebook photo.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Imelda Manalo Wright
June 05, 2023 - 1:05 PM
A Kelowna nurse and owner of a Nurse Next Door franchise has had her licenced cancelled after she failed to give a patient 24-hour care but billed $33,000 for it.
According to a June 2 BC College of Nurses and Midwives decision, registered nurse Imelda Wright also hired unlicensed health care aids and didn't have shifts covered 24/7, which left the client's family having to step in.
The decision says Wright owns a Nurse Next Door franchise which serves Kelowna and Vernon and had a WorkSafeBC contract.
Under the WorkSafeBC contract, Wright had a client who had "significant care needs" and required 24-hour care.
However, Wright hired unlicensed healthcare aids to provide care and didn't have the shifts covered.
"Leaving the client and their family to cope on their own," the decision says.
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She then hired the client's son, who was unqualified, and billed WorkSafeBC $33,000 for care that wasn't given. The money was later repaid by way of "clawback," the decision says.
"(Wright) did not ensure appropriate delegation of care tasks to unrelated health care aids, and did not ensure documentation related to client care met BC College of Nurses and Midwives documentation standards," the decision says. "(The regulator) considers financial malfeasance and the failure to deliver safe, competent, and ethical care to vulnerable clients in (the) community to fall on the most serious end of the spectrum of misconduct."
Wright signed a consent agreement and agreed to the cancellation of her nursing licence.
The nurse will not be allowed to reapply for 18 months, and for her to get her licence back she'll have to "meet the requirements of character, fitness, and competence requirements."
According to the Nurse Next Door website, Wright was a registered nurse for 27 years before becoming a franchisee in 2017.
No other information is given in the decision.
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The nursing regulator says it's satisfied that the terms will protect the public.
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