The number of complaints made about nurses to the fitness-to-practise committee of An Bord Altranais is increasing slightly year on year, the board has confirmed.
Its deputy chief executive, Deirdre Hogan, said the board, which regulates the nursing profession, had received 19 new complaints against nurses so far this year.
To date, 11 of these have resulted in fitness-to-practise inquiries, four of which are not yet complete, she said.
Of the seven inquiries that have been completed in the year to date, nurses were found guilty of professional misconduct in three cases; in two cases nurses were found guilty of professional misconduct and unfit to practise by reason of ill-health; in one case a nurse was found unfit to practise by reason of ill-health; and in one case a nurse was found not guilty.
Once a finding against a nurse has been made by the fitness-to-practise committee, the board of An Bord Altranais meets to decide what the most appropriate sanction should be.
Ms Hogan confirmed that in two cases dealt with so far this year, the board had decided that the most appropriate sanction was to erase the names of those nurses from the register.
"In several cases, proceedings have not yet concluded," she added.
The names of nurses struck off the register are published in the An Bord Altranais quarterly newsletter. However, their addresses or precisely what conduct they engaged in which resulted in their striking off is not published in the newsletter.
Ms Hogan said complaints to the nursing board about nurses are "going up by a few every year" but the numbers of nurses on the register is also increasing.
Overall, considering the thousands of nurses in the country, the numbers of complaints made against individuals in the profession remained low, she added. Figures for other years show the nursing board held four inquiries into the fitness to practise of nurses in 2003 and 16 inquiries in 2004. It has begun 11 inquiries in the first six months of this year. The board's 2005 annual report, with detailed figures for last year, is not yet available. If the board decides to suspend or strike off a nurse, or attach conditions to the retention of a nurses's name on the register, then the decision must be confirmed by the High Court and may be appealed by the nurse.
An appeal by a nurse against a decision by the nursing board last February to erase her name from the register was dismissed by the High Court in Dublin last Friday.
Mr Justice Brian McGovern ruled that Cliona Finnegan, Chestnut Drive, Kileen, Oakpark, Tralee, Co Kerry, should be struck off after exhibiting "disgraceful" conduct while on duty as the sole nurse responsible for 40 patients at the Stella Maris nursing home at Cummer, Tuam, Co Galway, on a night in August 2002.
It was alleged she rested or slept while on duty, appeared intoxicated and failed to provide any proper nursing care for patients. It was also alleged that she caused drugs at the home to be in such disarray to render it difficult or impossible to determine whether or not, or to what extent, they had been administered to patients.