3 months ago
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A nurse employed at a Sydney children’s hospital has been suspended from the medical profession by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal after he was accused of sexually touching a 16-year-old patient without consent under his care.
Nathan Kai Wei Pang had his registration suspended for three months for professional misconduct towards the adolescent boy, including allegedly inappropriately touching his genitals, speaking in a sexualised manner and making false statements about the incidents to his employer.
Pang will be able to work with children again after his suspension if he completes the education requirements laid out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW, including ethics, consent and record-keeping training.
The Sydney nurse has been suspended for three months.Credit: Michael O’Sullivan
The boy was recovering from surgery that involved a catheter in his groin, and needed check-ups to ensure it was healing properly.
In a police statement, the boy said he was used to nurses’ routine checks of his groin as he had a history of being in hospitals.
“I heard [Pang] come into the room. I was in bed and thought I would keep my eyes closed until he asked me to open them so he could shine a light in my face. The nurse came to my bed. He put his hand up the leg of my boxer shorts.
“At that time, I opened my eyes, it was about 20 or 30 seconds before he noticed I was awake. When he saw I was awake, he stopped and pulled his hand out of my boxer shorts. I didn’t say anything, I was in shock.
“It was a few hours later, and the nurse came back in. I heard him come in, which woke me ... I felt worried and nervous,” he said. “I was concerned he had done it again.”
The boy’s father said he noticed his son was distressed after the examination.
“I went to [his] room at approximately 8.30am and [he] appeared upset and agitated. It was the look on his face. I could see something was wrong ... I asked [him] a number of times what was upsetting him ... he opened up and told me a nurse was inappropriate with him on more than one occasion throughout the night.”
Pang was found guilty on April 29 by the tribunal for three counts of unsatisfactory professional conduct and one of professional misconduct.
On Monday, it suspended him from the medical registrar for three months.
“In our view, the conditions that we have found ought to be attached to Mr Pang’s registration and which cover supervision, mentoring, education, and performance assessment will assist, address and support his re-entry into practice,” the tribunal said in its decision.
The incidents allegedly occurred during two groin examinations on December 16 and 17, 2021. Pang denied touching the boy’s groin in the first examination or having an inappropriate sexualised conversation with him, but admitted to some aspects of touching in the second check.
During both examinations, Pang allegedly failed to obtain consent or ask whether the patient could move his genitals himself.
Afterwards, Pang allegedly failed to report or inform his team leader that he had touched the patients’ groin during the examinations. He denies failing to disclose the first exam to his manager, but admitted to not reporting the second.
The boy’s father reported the incident immediately. An investigation was launched by the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (SCHN), which issued Pang an “allegation letter” on May 26, 2022 that described the incident.
In a response to the SCHN in June 2022, Pang denied any wrongdoing. However, he later admitted to not telling the truth in the letter based on his interpretation of advice allegedly provided to him by his union, the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association.
Police investigated the claims, but the boy’s father chose not to pursue the matter further in March 2022, and no criminal charges were laid against Pang.
Pang had been stood down from his role in the children’s hospital the day after the incident, and was transferred the next month to a support unit for patients and families who tested positive for COVID.
He was later moved to a COVID-19 vaccination clinic before being suspended with pay in February 2022.
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