Public safety

Public Protection

The College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia (CLPNBC) is responsible for the regulation of the profession of Licensed Practical Nursing in B.C. The Health Professions Act (HPA) requires the CLPNBC to serve and protect the public by regulating the profession in the public interest. The inquiry and discipline process is part of the CLPNBC's responsibility to ensure that LPNs practice in a competent, safe, and ethical manner, in accordance with the Bylaws, Standards of Practice, and the Code of Ethics for LPNs. When the CLPNBC receives complaints from the public, it takes disciplinary action against a registrant (where appropriate) to protect the public.
Our Responsibility

The CLPNBC has a responsibility to ensure that all Licensed Practical Nurses practice safely and competently within the Standards of Practice and the Code of Ethics for LPNs.
Administrative Fairness

The CLPNBC adheres to the legal principles of natural justice, procedural fairness, and impartiality in the handling and disposition of complaints made against LPNs. This approach requires that LPNs and the other parties in the complaint process, including the complainant, are treated in accordance with the standards of fairness required by law.
Jurisdiction

Only the CLPNBC has the legal authority to deal with complaints against LPNs registered with the College and only with respect to conduct that concerns a registrant's professional practice, competency, and fitness to practice.
Initiating a Complaint

A complaint against an LPN must be made in writing, signed, and forwarded to the attention of the Registrar at the CLPNBC. The College has a complaint form that sets out specific information that should be contained in a complaint. Anonymous complaints are not accepted.

What details should I include in my complaint?

When submitting a letter of complaint:

(a) Provide the following information regarding the registrant:
- name
- registration number
- dates of employment at facility
- category of employment (e.g. full-time, part-time and/or casual)
- dates of transfers, dates of leaves of absence; and current employer (if known and or applicable)
(b) List and number the significant incidents that prompted your complaint. Include the following details:
- date of incident
- time of incident
- where incident occurred
- full name of patient; if possible
- description of incident(s)
(c) List the full names of any witnesses involved.

(d) Indicate your full name, title, telephone number and extension number where you can be reached.

(e) Attach copies of any supporting documentation that may assist the investigation process.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above instructions, please contact Patricia McDonald at (778) 373- 3111 or e-mail: pmcdonald@clpnbc.org
Initial Processing of Complaint

The complainant will receive confirmation of receipt of the complaint and may be interviewed for further information. The LPN who is the subject of the complaint will be notified of the details of the complaint and given an opportunity to respond. The complaint will then be evaluated by the Registrar and brought to the Inquiry Committee.
Investigation

The Inquiry Committee may appoint an inspector to investigate the complaint. During the course of the investigation, the complainant, the LPN, the patient, the employer, and other witnesses may be interviewed to gather relevant information. At the conclusion of the investigation, a report is forwarded to the Inquiry Committee to decide what steps should be taken.
Extraordinary Action to Protect the Public

If, upon receiving a complaint, during the course of an investigation or pending a discipline hearing, the Inquiry Committee considers that the public may be at risk if the registrant continues to practice, the Inquiry Committee may take extraordinary action under Section 35 of the HPA to impose a suspension or limits on the registrant's practice until the complaint is resolved to ensure that the public is protected. The registrant may appeal this action to the B.C. Supreme Court.
Authority of Inquiry Committee

The Inquiry Committee is formed of members of the LPN profession and public members. Once a complaint is investigated, the Inquiry Committee must decide if the complaint should be dismissed or if further action should be taken.
A complaint will be dismissed if the Inquiry Committee determines that:
- the CLPNBC has no jurisdiction
- the conduct of the LPN was satisfactory
- the matter is trivial, frivolous, or vexatious
If the Inquiry Committee determines that further action should be taken on the complaint, it has the authority to:
- informally resolve the complaint between the complainant and the registrant. This may include, but is not limited to, mediation between the parties
- request that the registrant consent to remediation, which could include practice consultation sessions, educational upgrading, written reprimand, and any other action specified by the Inquiry Committee
- direct the Registrar to issue a citation to the registrant to appear at a hearing of the Discipline Committee, if the complaint is serious, if the registrant refuses to agree to remediation, or fails to comply with remedial action
Consent Resolution

A large number of complaints are resolved through consensual Agreements of Undertaking entered into by the LPN and the Inquiry Committee. The Agreements set out various terms which the LPN must meet to remediate the underlying problem that gave rise to the complaint. Terms in an Agreement may include educational training, practice consultations with the CLPNBC, limitations or restrictions on practice and fines or other sanctions.
Discipline Hearing

When a complaint is referred to a disciplinary hearing, the College must prove the allegations arising from the complaint against the LPN in a "trial-like" process. The members of the Discipline Committee, who are both LPNs and public members, and not previously involved in the handling of the complaint, decide the case as "quasi-judges". The LPN is entitled to be represented at the hearing by a lawyer, as well as the College. The complainant and others may be witnesses. If the Discipline hearing panel finds, after the hearing is completed, that the LPN has breached the HPA, the Bylaws, Standards of Practice, or Code of Ethics by having engaged in professional misconduct, conduct unbecoming a member, incompetency, or is not fit to practice, then it may impose a number of sanctions against the LPN, including:
- reprimand
- suspension
- cancellation of licence
- fine
- conditions or restrictions on practice
Disclosure of Complaint Outcomes

The decisions made by the Inquiry Committee and the Discipline Committee with respect to the complaints are disclosed to the registrant, the complainant, and the CLPNBC Board of Directors. Additionally, the CLPNBC discloses results of inquiry and discipline in the public interest, which includes:
- to the public regarding any limits or conditions on a LPN's licence (through the College's public register)
- to the LPN profession (through the CLPNBC newsletters)
- to other professional nursing regulatory bodies throughout Canada (through direct notification)
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the complaint process, please contact Patricia McDonald at (778) 373- 3111 or e-mail: pmcdonald@clpnbc.org

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	Forms The following forms are available for download:

	Associated documents - click to download
	complaintbrochure2010.pdf (Approx 486K)
	Formal Complaint Form 2010.pdf (Approx 137K)

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Inquiry Committee

The Inquiry Committee is authorized to conduct an investigation into all complaints.

The first step is usually to appoint an Investigations Inspector to review the complaint. The Registrar is responsible for ensuring that an inspector has expertise that is relevant to the case.

The investigator then:

interviews the person making the complaint, the witnesses, and the registrant
requests documentation and other evidence
inspects the workplace and/or conducts a site visit
observes the professional practice of the LPN
consults with other professionals and/or professional organization

During an investigation of a complaint, the Inquiry Committee may take extraordinary action to protect the public by setting limits or conditions on the registrant's practice, or suspending the registrant's registration. They can also decide to:

take no further action
propose an informal resolution to resolve the matter between the complainant and the registrant
prepare an Agreement of Undertaking
direct the Registrar to issue a citation

The committee must also review the investigation materials.

If a registrant's licence is suspended or has limits placed on it, then the registrant has the right to appeal the decision to the B.C. Supreme Court.

Once the Inquiry Committee makes a decision, they must notify the CLPNBC Board of Directors, the person or organization who made the complaint, and the registrant. The CLPNBC must also disclose the terms of the Agreement of Undertaking consented to by the registrant. This is done in the public's interest. At this stage, the decision is released to all LPNs, the public registrar, employers, and regulatory bodies.

The Agreement of Undertaking can then be concluded.

If registrants do not comply with the agreement, they will be referred to the Discipline Committee for a hearing of their case. They have the right to appeal the case to the B.C. Supreme Court.

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Remedial Agreements

In some cases, the Inquiry Committee decides to take remedial action. This means the registrant:

is not allowed to repeat the conduct
must take education courses
must consent to a reprimand, and/or
must undertake or consent to any other action

Remedial agreements include Agreement of Undertaking. These are cases where the registrant refuses to give an undertaking or a consent, or if a registrant, after signing an agreement, does not comply with the undertaking. In this situation, the Inquiry Committee may direct the Registrar to issue a citation for a discipline hearing of the case.

An Agreement of Undertaking is:

voluntary
remedial in nature
signed by the registrant and the CLPNBC's Inquiry Committee Chair

.
It includes:

acknowledgement of conduct
agreement not to repeat the conduct
consent to be reprimanded
specification of education requirements
a notation on the registrant's registration, and
any other action

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Professional conduct review

The Health Professions Act states that it is the duty of a college to serve and protect the public.

Colleges must establish, monitor, and enforce standards of practice to enhance the quality of practice and reduce incompetent, impaired, or unethical practice among registrants. They must also establish, monitor, and enforce standards of professional ethics among registrants.

It is therefore the responsibility of the CLPNBC to ensure that all LPNs practice safely, competently, and ethically.

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Discipline Committee

The Discipline Committee is a board committee established by legislation under the Health Professions Act Part 2, Section 19 (t) and derives its authority from that Act and as further iterated in the Bylaws Part 5 and in its terms of reference.

The purpose is to hear and consider cases sent by citation from the Inquiry Committee to a discipline hearing, and to make a determination based on the facts of the case.

The Discipline Committee consists of up to three members appointed by the board and may convene in panels with addition members. It must include at least one registrant and one public representative. The board must appoint a chair who is a member of the board from among the members of the committee.

In addition, the membership shall, wherever possible, include someone who has:

expertise in evidentiary matters
expertise in writing Decision and Reasons documents
expertise in policy development
expertise in chairing boards, committees, or hearings
up to two registrants per panel who are currently practicing in an LPN role
the Executive Director/Registrar or designate (staff role only)

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