West Kelowna nurse suspended for giving vulnerable patient anti-vax info

A West-Kelowna nurse who gave a vulnerable client anti-COVID vaccine information and recommended pseudo-science alternatives has been suspended for four weeks.

According to a Sept. 15 B.C. College of Nurses of Midwives decision, registered nurse Carole Garfield contacted the vulnerable client while off duty to give them the information using her personal cell phone and email.

The decision says Garfield provided "anti-COVID vaccine information and… alternative pseudo-science modalities."

Garfield signed a consent agreement admitting to her behaviour.

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The College suspended her nursing licence for four weeks and limited her from being the sole nurse on duty for six months.

She also has to take educational courses in ethics, boundaries, documentation, privacy and confidentiality, as well as in professional nursing standards.

While the decision says Garfield has been suspended for four weeks it also refers to Garfield as a "former" registered nurse.

The decision does not say whether Garfield is currently working as a nurse.

READ MORE: Two more B.C. nurses suspended for accessing hundreds of private medical records

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