A Kelowna nurse has had his licence suspended following numerous complaints over his handling of narcotics while working around the province.

According to a June 23 BC College of Nurses and Midwives summary protection order, the nursing regulator received four complaints about registered nurse Mark Wade over his handling of narcotics and possible diversion.

While working at the Burnaby Hospital, Wade was put under investigation over possible narcotic diversion, and he was said to have removed hydromorphone without the correct documentation. His paperwork was also inconsistent with the quantities removed, and there were multiple withdrawals within short timeframes.

There were also complaints about his narcotic handling from other places he’d worked around the province.

“Within a relatively short timeframe, four employers have raised similar concerns, indicating a pattern of questionable behaviour,” the nursing regulator said. “A further pattern of concern is that in each case the (Wade) has left or been terminated from the workplace, only to move on to another workplace and apparently repeat the conduct.”

Since February, Wade has worked in Clearwater, Dawson Creek, Abbotsford and Burnaby before getting a job in Kelowna in May.

The College said this raises concerns that he may be actively seeking to avoid accountability, and that he has also changed travel nursing employers.

“A concern for the (College) was that with (Wade) moving between employers, the type of support and structure that an employer might provide to a permanent employee when narcotic handling concerns arose are absent, making it incumbent on the regulator to step in,” the notice reads.

The notice stated that when Wade began full-time employment at the Kelowna ER department in May, he did not tell the hospital about the complaints against him.

The regulator said this indicates he’s not being forthcoming and accountable.

Wade’s union said he may be suffering from a health condition as a traumatic event in 2013 left him with PTSD, but he hadn’t disclosed this to his employers.

“The information before the (College) indicates that (Wade) practiced for seven to eight months while he may not have been fit to practice as a result of a health issue, as he indicated, through (the union), that the narcotic issues reported to the College were to a degree connected to his PTSD, indicating a concerning lack of self-regulation,” the College said.

The nursing regulator said it had no option but to suspend his licence while he’s under investigation to protect the public.

None of the allegations have been proven by the regulator.