Former Nunavut nurse is appealing a decision to take away his licence to practise
A former nurse in Whale Cove, Nunavut, is fighting a decision from the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut to take away his licence to practise.
Willy Tchuilen Ngatcha is appealing a decision made in January 2019 by a board of inquiry— appointed by the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut — on allegations made against him about his competence as a nurse.
The appeal hearing was held over a zoom call for two days on June 16 and 17.
Tchuilen Ngatcha is appealing the decision to have his licence to practise nursing cancelled saying he was a victim of harassment, discrimination and racism based on his race, gender and language.
Tchuilen Ngatcha is a Black man whose first language is French.
"Yes I'm fighting, maybe I would not continue to act as a nurse," said Tchuilen Ngatcha. "But no one will remove the nursing spirit."
Tchuilen Ngatcha represented himself in the appeal hearing and submitted a 32 page document to the panel making his case for why the allegations against him are "frivolous and vexatious."
He spent six hours speaking to the appeal board making a case that the nurses he was stationed with in Whale Cove were part of a "blatant conspiracy well orchestrated" against him to end his nursing career.
"It's not a belief, it's real," said Tchuilen Ngatcha, about the alleged conspiracy.
Ngatcha was hired as a nurse by the government of Nunavut in December 2016 and was stationed in Whale Cove on Dec. 22.
Over the course of the 37 days he was there, the local community nurses made 42 complaints against him.
These complaints led to the board of inquiry panel where Tchuilen Ngatcha nursing licence was cancelled.
"Being a nurse is something that comes from the bottom of my heart," said Tchuilen Ngatcha. "In my family caring for other people it's a trademark."
The complaints were about his competency as a nurse. During the submissions made by Gregory Sim, the Registered Nurses Association's lawyer, Sim read out some of the complaints he believed were the most serious. These complaints were among the ones he was found guilty of by the board of inquiry in 2019.
Some of the allegations read by Sim against Tchuilen Ngatcha included: that he took a long time to give an injection to an infant causing excessive pain; that he was unable to differentiate between certain kinds of medications such as the difference between Tylenol 500 and Tylenol 3; that he allegedly offered an inappropriate amount of fluid to rehydrate an elderly patient who was suffering with cardiac issues; and that he was allegedly unable to conduct a neurological assessment of a patient with a head injury.
"They [nurses in Whale Cove] became concerned that Mr. Tchuilen Ngatcha just did not have the knowledge, skills or judgment to practise nursing in that community," said Sim during his submissions.
The board of inquiry found Ngatcha guilty of 22 of the complaints. An additional complaint was made for failing to co-operate with the investigator when the allegations were made, said Sim in the appeal hearing.
Sim also said there is no evidence to support Ngatcha's belief that he was conspired against based on his race.
CBC was unable to obtain a copy of the decision made by the board of inquiry despite requesting it from Denise Bowen, executive director of Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Bowen said she was unable to share information that is before the appeal panel. She also denied a request for an interview because the appeal is ongoing.
CBC also requested an interview with Sim but he referred the request back to his client.
The appeal panel has 30 days to make its decision. If the decision isn't appealed further, the findings will be made public through the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
