Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Applicant v Lochrin, Terry

[2023] QCAT 556

[2023] QCAT 556

QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

JUDICIAL MEMBER RINAUDO AM

Assisted by:

MR DIXON

MS HOPKINS

MS THOMSON

OCR No. 246 of 2022

NURSING AND MIDWIFERY BOARD OF AUSTRALIA

Applicant

v 

LOCHRIN, TERRY

Respondent

BRISBANE

TUESDAY, 28 NOVEMBER 2023

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. JUDICIAL MEMBER: This application is brought by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia against Terry Lochrin for what the Tribunal accepts can globally be described as professional misconduct.  Although some of the charges might otherwise fit into the lesser description of unprofessional conduct relating to drug offences and charges that occurred in the middle of 2019, for which Mr Lochrin subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced.  There are other allegations about him failing to provide information to police at the time of arrest or giving false information and failing to provide notification to the Board of the offences. 

2. There is a statement of agreed and disputed facts.  All of the facts are substantially agreed, save for one issue in relation to the notice to the Board, which is referred to in the disputed facts at paragraph 10 of 11.  Mr Lochrin did give notice on the 13^th of February, and that is said by him to be an answer to that allegation, although the Tribunal notes that in respect of that, he was sentenced in the Inverell Magistrates Court on the 15^th of February.  But in any event, that is the only issue that is in dispute. 

3. In their submissions, the applicant seeks cancellation and disqualification of the respondent’s registration, and a prohibition from providing any health service until such time as he becomes re-registered.  A number of authorities were provided, and I note that the respondent has distinguished those authorities, and the Tribunal accepts that they are of some assistance, but are distinguishable in the way that was submitted. 

4. The respondent submits that he should be reprimanded, primarily because of the circumstances that have come to pass over the years since the convictions, and indeed, he has been in practice as a nurse since then, and is currently employed as a DON at a nurse-led regional and remote primary clinic in Tambo in Queensland, and his employer, Mr West, speaks highly of him and the need for him to continue in that employment.  He also has reports from Wendy Macintosh in respect of an ethics course, which he undertook, and a report from Dr Pryor, which talks about there not appearing to be any need for further testing in respect of risk of drug taking, and indeed, a negative test was attached to that report. 

5. The Tribunal accepts that general and specific deterrence are important, and as has been described by the applicant, general deterrence is extremely important.  The general principle that nurse practitioners who take drugs and are untruthful about that to the authorities, a strong message needs to be sent that that is completely unacceptable behaviour and, in fact, as described, professional misconduct. However, in the circumstances of this case, the Tribunal has taken into account factors of what appears to be insight and remorse, having regard to the report of Wendy Macintosh and also Mr West. 

6. The fact that there has been no sanction whatsoever against him since the 2019 offences, that he has continued to practice since then, that all of the facts of were substantially admitted, and that he has been conducting himself without any blemish or any subsequent complaint in his current employment.  The Tribunal is of a mind that in these circumstances, having regard to those factors, that the sanction proposed by the applicant of cancellation and prohibition is simply not sustainable on the facts of this case.  And in the circumstances, the Tribunal is satisfied that the appropriate sanction should be that of reprimand.