Health worker gets too personal
The career of a Newfoundland and Labrador-based paramedic was resuscitated when an arbitrator substituted his termination for a lengthy suspension.
Andrew Byrne was fired from his position as a paramedic with Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority on Feb. 15, 2013, after he failed to submit 217 patient care reports (PCRs).
The PCRs were stored in a backpack in Byrne’s personal locker. Dating back to December 2011, as many as 167 of the documents still had the patient/facility copy attached, meaning Byrne did not provide a copy of the PCR to the facility that received the patient. Additionally, 92 of the PCRs were not invoiced which meant the client/patients were not billed for transport.
Byrne presented the backpack to his supervisor, Ian Winter, following a meeting to discuss the missing PCRs. He said he was dealing with issues in his personal life and did not feel like completing the PCRs after a shift. Byrne said he put the documents in his locker with the intention of completing them at a later date, but the number of uncompleted PCRs began to build and the situation "continued to snow ball."
Byrne was dismissed for risking patient care by failing to transfer medical information upon transport, for risking patient confidentiality by storing their personal and medical information in his locker, for impacting the organization’s ability to recover funds relating to transport and for dishonesty.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public Employees (NAPE) filed a grievance on Byrne’s behalf, requesting the discharge by reduced.
Byrne admitted to his mistakes and indicated remorse, the union said. Byrne testified he did not want to be seen as the weak link on the team and did not want his coworkers to know what was going on with him personally.
The union argued there were issues with the employer’s process for auditing PCRs, suggesting there were not sufficient checks and balances in place. It was also suggested Byrne’s supervisors should have detected he was having personal issues.
Byrne testified he was afraid to take sick leave to deal with his personal problems because the company’s human resources department often raised issues of abuse of sick leave.
Byrne testified he is now seeking professional help for his problems and the union emphasized his rehabilitative potential.
The employer argued a high level of trust and the highest standards of integrity and judgment are required to provide the best care possible to its patients. Documents prepared by paramedics can be used by coroners in reports or subpoenaed by police. Byrne’s actions — which were both deliberate and sustained over a significant period of time — put patients’ safety at risk, the employer said. The employer requested the grievance be denied in its entirety.
Arbitrator Wayne Thistle ultimately found Byrne’s failure to submit PCRs to the facilities receiving patients did not put those patients at risk to the point of supporting termination. He ruled the paramedics’ verbal transfer of information to medical personnel receiving the patients was sufficient, even without the PCR.
"The most telling aspect of the value of the PCR in the instant case is that there is no evidence that any health care professional asked why they were missing PCRs and where they might be," Thistle said in his ruling. "Further, in the instant case the employer conducted a review of patient’s charts to evaluate whether the missing PCRs may have had any effect on the safety issue. The result was there was no case where such had occurred."
While Byrne was negligent in his failure to complete the 217 PCRs, Thistle found his personal circumstances were a major contributing factor. Byrne had no record of prior discipline.
The disciplinary sanction was substituted with a suspension of ten months without pay or benefits, with all other aspects of the grievance denied.
Reference: Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority and the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public Employees. Wayne Thistle — Sole arbitrator. Jay Neville for the employer, Jerry Earle for the union. Jan. 27, 2014.
