The Canadian Bazaar
TORONTO: An Ontario nurse, who engaged in sex with an 80-year-old dementia patient, has her registration revoked by the College of Nurses of Ontario.
Cathryn Marie Dulmage, a registered nurse working with Nightingale Nursing Registry in Peterborough, indulged in sexual acts with her 80-year-old patient to whom she was assigned by her employer in 2017.
According to the discipline committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario, the nurse started providing personal home care to the patient in January 2017.
After her `very pleasant’ first shift with the patient, he (the patient) contacted her employer to assign her to come to him a few times a week.
As a result, she attended the patient in six shifts of one-hour each between January 16 and January 23 in 2017.
But on January 20, 2017, when she was not scheduled to visit the patient, the nurse went to his residence carrying coffee, and going upstairs and spending 30 minutes wth him.
There were no video cameras on the upper floor to record her meeting, but the nurse later admitted that she and the patient engaged in oral sex and intercourse, hugging and kissing, and exchanged sexual remarks during those 30 minutes.
Two days later on January 22, 2017, when she was not scheduled to visit the patient, the nurse again went to his residence and the video footage shows that she embraced and kissed the patient. The video also shows the patient telling the nurse that he loves her twice as she leaves his home.
When the patient’s family – who had installed security cameras with video and audio recording for his protection – reviewed the video footage, they were shocked and reported the matter to the nurse’s employer – Nightingale Nursing Registry.
When the nurse was confronted with the evidence, she admitted that she had indulged in “sex and fellatio”, “touching and kissing” with her patient and that they were “in love”.
She was fired from her job on January 23, 2017, and the matter was referred to the College of Nurses of Ontario for disciplinary action.
The discipline committee of the college came to its decision to revoke her registration in May 2021 and announced it last week.
The 80-year-old dementia patient, who died before the nurse’ disciplinary hearing, has not been named.
