Copyright abc
A former NSW nurse has been disqualified for two years after she took a vulnerable patient to an escape room and engaged in a years-long intimate relationship with him. Former Wagga Wagga Base Hospital registered nurse Dilnoor Kang engaged in an intimate relationship with the man over a three-year period, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) ruled on Friday. The Healthcare Complaints Commission outlined that between 2021 and 2024, Ms Kang engaged in repeated breaches of professional boundaries, including hugging and kissing the man, who was several years younger than her. The tribunal heard the patient was admitted to the Mental Health Inpatient Unit (MHIPU) four times in early 2021 and during each visit, Ms Kang was involved in his care. In May 2021, just two days after he was discharged from hospital, Ms Kang and the patient attended an escape room in Canberra together. The tribunal heard evidence Ms Kang kissed the patient on the lips while they were in her car parked outside her residence in 2022. During a 12-month period between 2022 and 2023, the pair communicated with each other on thousands of occasions. In early 2024, police responded to an incident at Ms Kang's home where he had accused her of "cheating on him". During the 3am visit, the nurse told police the patient was her boyfriend and the pair had been together six months. Evidence of inappropriate interactions between Ms Kang and the patient at the Wagga Base Hospital was also presented to the tribunal. On one occasion, when the patient was admitted with "acute psychosis" in December 2022, she attended the hospital and asked to speak to him alone. In late 2023, after an investigation into Ms Kang's relationship with the patient, The Murrumbidgee Local Health District terminated her employment. In 2024 she voluntarily surrendered her nursing registration. 'False and misleading statements' The Healthcare Complaints Commission said Ms Kang made several false and misleading statements to the Murrumbidgee Local Health District and the Nursing and Midwifery Council over the nature of her relationship with the patient. The tribunal heard the nurse should have been well aware of the vulnerable nature of the patient and said she exploited her professional position to establish a friendship and continued an intimate relationship with the patient for years. It heard Ms Kang breached the standards of conduct expected by a registered nurse and that her actions had the capacity to undermine public faith in the nursing profession. Ms Kang was found guilty of professional misconduct and disqualified from returning to be a registered nurse for two years.
