A Nigerian-born nurse, Chimzuruoke Okembunachi, has been struck off the nursing register in Australia after a tribunal found that she repeatedly slept while on duty during overnight shifts at an aged care facility in Sydney.
The 25-year-old had her registration cancelled by the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which ruled that her conduct amounted to professional misconduct and posed a serious risk to the safety of elderly residents under her care.
Okembunachi was employed at Hardi Aged Care in Guildford from February 2024 but was suspended less than a month later before eventually resigning. Tribunal findings showed that between March 13 and March 27, 2024, she worked several night shifts as the sole registered nurse supervising up to four assistants-in-nursing and approximately 100 residents.
During that period, she reportedly fell asleep on six occasions while on duty, failing to adequately monitor staff and patients. On three of those nights, residents missed their prescribed morphine doses. The tribunal also heard that she instructed an assistant-in-nursing to administer medication, despite the assistant lacking the legal authorisation to do so.
Concerns about her behaviour were raised by colleagues on March 27, leading to her suspension the following day.
At the hearing, Okembunachi admitted the allegations and expressed remorse, attributing her actions to overwhelming personal pressures, including health issues, academic commitments and financial responsibilities to her family. She acknowledged that continuing to accept night shifts under those circumstances compromised patient safety.
While the tribunal noted her honesty and remorse, it concluded that deregistration was the only appropriate sanction, stressing that her actions had the potential to endanger lives. She will not be eligible to seek a review of the decision for at least nine months.
