Duty of care: Plunket criticized after the nurse’s affair with her new father

A mother of five whose husband had an affair with the family’s nurse Plunket felt abandoned and without the support of the charity that was supposed to care for her.

The Kiwi mother, who did not want to be identified to protect her children, is still dealing with the aftermath of being left alone with her five children, after the nurse started an affair with her client’s husband and the couple moved in. together just before the level 4 lockdown.

Plunket has not apologized to the mother and the nurse was not disciplined and quit her job without consequence.

A friend of the mother spoke to the Herald about the ordeal and described how it all fell apart just before closing in March, leaving the mother alone during the most stressful time of her life.

A couple of weeks before the confinement, the mother, who lives in the Manawatū region, confronted her husband about the affair, after using phone records to confirm her suspicions that he had been in a romantic relationship with Plunket’s nurse. The man, the father of his five children, left the family home and reportedly moved in with the nurse.

It turned out that while the mother was telling Plunket’s nurse about her marital problems, Plunket’s nurse was allegedly getting into a relationship with the woman’s husband.

“She confided to this nurse to some extent what was going on in the marriage. This nurse was communicating with the husband the night of the day the client had been confiding in her,” explained a friend, who acted as an advocate for the mother.

The mother filed a complaint with Plunket, who believes that she did not provide adequate support during the ordeal. During the confinement, she received no offer of support from Plunket and was left alone and heartbroken, caring for her five children alone.

“The mother was asked if she wanted another nurse assigned to her before the lockdown. She was not very sure due to trust issues. In May, she confirmed that no, she did not want another nurse from Plunket. But that does not mean Plunket should not have offered no support, “adds the friend.

“A senior manager, a clinical services manager for this location, should have been in regular contact. [The manager] he was aware of the problem … that was his job to verify [the mother]. The senior manager didn’t do that because they are friends. “

The mother told the Herald that she felt Plunket wanted her to “shut up.” “They asked me not to post anything on social media, not to tell anyone. They wanted me to just get over it. They didn’t even tell me the process for filing an official complaint,” he said.

“They could have gotten other nurses to call and ask me how I was doing, to see if I needed anything, if I needed food packages or advice. There was none of that. It was very cut and dry.”

Despite knowing that the mother had been left alone with five children during seven weeks of confinement, no one from Plunket contacted her.

The friend and defender says Plunket also did not keep them updated on the status of the investigation, which began in May.

“I had to keep following up to try to find out what was going on,” says the friend.

“It seemed to have a lot to do with the nurse’s job, not with the mother’s care.

“There was no compassion, no one trying to put themselves in this mom’s shoes.”

In August, Plunket told the mother of five that the investigation was over and the nurse had resigned.

“It was pathetic that they didn’t even email me apologizing, it was just ‘ready and dusted, see you later.’ They wanted to sweep it under the rug,” says Mom.

“Why is it acceptable for an organization that defends families and mothers to act like this?”

The mother’s defender says the nurse “violated her duty of care,” but seems to have been able to quit her job and walk away from the consequences.

“The whole thing sucks down to the manager of Plunket’s location here, who is a friend of the nurse on Facebook,” says the mother’s friend.

‘Hard on the mom and hard on the kids’

Since sharing the story on Facebook to a New Zealand-based parent group, the mother’s friend says she has heard numerous stories from other mothers who have been disappointed by Plunket and the level of support offered by the institution.

After the confinement ended, the mother moved to another organization that has been taking care of her and her children. “They immediately took the pieces and started the counseling,” says her friend.

“It has been very hard. Hard for the mother and hard for the children.”

Despite the investigation, the nurse resigned from Plunket and kept her nursing license.

Contacted by the Herald, Plunket says it received an official complaint on April 30, after the mother first tipped it off about the problem in late March.

“The mother first alerted us to the issue in late March, when requests were made for information about our complaint process and for a new Plunket nurse,” said Linda Biddle, Plunket’s deputy director of executive operations.

“A new nurse was assigned who contacted the mother to offer support and provide information on other available external support services.

“The mother and child were not supposed to attend any of the well-child program contacts during the closure, however, Plunket remained in contact with our customers via social media and email, and PlunketLine remained available for support. 24/7 during closing.

“On April 30, an official complaint was received and on May 8, an investigation meeting was held with the mother and her defender. At that time we offered a nurse to visit the mother to provide more support, but she Offer was rejected and we were advised that he did not want any other parent support contacts from Plunket, “added Biddle.

According to Biddle, “the nurse resigned from Plunket before the investigation could be completed, concluding employment matters between Plunket and the former nurse.”

According to the mother, Plunket ended the investigation on July 10 and the nurse resigned in August.

The mother is still shocked that the nurse managed to quit nearly four weeks after Plunket said the investigation into her behavior ended, seemingly without consequences.

“They sent me an email saying the investigation is over. Then four weeks later, she runs away, resigns and keeps her license,” says the mother’s advocate. “The mother has just received many thanks and all the best.”

When asked to clarify the discrepancy in the dates given by the mother’s defender about the end of the investigation and the resignation of the nurse, Plunket refused to make further clarifications.

According to the mother, the nurse has tried to make contact despite being told not to.

Complaints have been filed with the Commission on Health and Disability and the Board of Nursing.

‘It’s not serious enough’

The complaint filed with the Board of Nursing was not confirmed because the board did not consider that the nurse’s actions met the threshold for imposing restrictions on her license.

“Dividing a marriage with five children, leading the mother to quit her job, leaving her without support … and they say that is not serious enough,” says the defender. “That’s a really low threshold for who can keep their job while it’s investigated.”

The Board of Nursing said it cannot comment on individual cases. Senior Counsel for the Council of Nursing, Clare Prendergast, said “the required threshold is that there is a risk of serious harm to the public before interim orders under Article 69 are justified.”

The nurse has received two letters from lawyers advising her not to contact the mother.

A complaint from the Health and Disability Commission, filed in May, is still under investigation.

The mother has yet to receive formal updates on the status of the investigation and was told that the nurse’s attorney is working on a response to the allegations.

“Things are dragging on, the nurse has all the time in the world to respond. The mother continues to suffer the consequences.”

The mother-of-five, who has since started to rebuild her life, says she wants other parents who have problems with Plunket to know that they have the right to file a complaint, and that it should be done in writing. “We had to search and search their complaint process, it is not clear at all.

“I also want other mothers to know that Plunket is not your only option, there are wonderful organizations that can help you and your family.”