A registered nurse who wrongly administered fentanyl, nearly killing a patient, and asked a doctor to approve the move after the fact has been stripped of her licence by Manitoba’s nursing regulator.
The nurse, Nipaben Patel, said Thursday she had hoped to get a suspension and a chance to make amends and return to the profession.
“I have taken full responsibility for the mistakes that I made on the day in question and expressed my sincere commitment to improving and returning to practice as a better and more educated and experienced nurse,” Patel said in an email.
“Unfortunately, I was not given that second chance.”
Earlier this week, the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba cancelled Patel’s licence. She was also fined $10,000.
The decision was made on the recommendation of a panel that examined what happened that day in November 2024 in the emergency room at Lynn Lake in northwestern Manitoba.
A 55-year-old man was brought in, said the investigation’s findings.
He had been found on a floor with blood around his mouth and nose and on his shirt. The physician on duty directed the man be transported by air to a hospital in Winnipeg.
Without receiving any orders from the doctor, Patel administered two drugs on her own, said the decision.
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Patel later said the doctor had told her to do so, but she eventually admitted no such order was given.
After receiving the drugs, the patient got worse. His oxygen levels changed.
Patel noticed but didn’t tell anyone, said the decision.
Soon after, the patient stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating, prompting a paramedic to step in and perform CPR to bring him back to life.
Patel later asked the doctor to provide a written order for the administration of fentanyl and succinylcholine. The doctor declined to retroactively provide an order.
The following day, Patel ended her contract with the hospital. The doctor reported Patel’s conduct later that month to the college.
She has not worked as a registered nurse since Nov. 15, 2024.
The panel said Patel worked as a registered nurse and midwife in India from 2004 to 2010, before she emigrated to Canada. In Canada, she worked as a health care aide and a licensed practical nurse. She received her registered nursing licence in Manitoba in 2023.
David Swayze, the lawyer for the investigation committee, said that history was a factor.
“(Patel) chose to re-enter RN practice after a 13-year gap without any assessment of (her) skills and without any additional training,” Swayze said.
“(She) did not appreciate the significance or risk to patient safety.”
Patel’s lawyer argued that the nurse, inexperienced in critical care, was in over her head in a chaotic situation and she panicked. Patel sought a suspension and a requirement to complete a clinical competence assessment.
Her lawyer asked the panel to refrain from making Patel a “figurehead” for registered nurses who are internationally educated.
The province has previously issued directives to the college asking them to remove registration requirements for nurses registered in other provinces and territories, citing concerns about compliance with internal trade agreements and provincial legislation.
The college said these practices are in place to ensure patient safety and trust.
“Professional regulatory bodies like the college are put in an impossible position, when we are directed to only apply substantial regulatory oversight after professional misconduct has occurred,” Deb Elias, the college’s registrar, said in a statement.
Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said cases like this are rare and don’t reflect the everyday care provided by nurses across the province.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said the case provides a learning opportunity for the government as well as the college.
“I would just ask the college of nurses in Manitoba to also keep an open mind about learning lessons. Because certainly they have been called out by many folks outside of our government about the need to modernize and to get with the times.”
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