Nurses charged with forgery after patient found dead outside Cape Breton hospital

Two nursesare being charged with forgery following an investigation by police and the medical examinerinto the death of a 79-year-old man found outside the Cape Breton Regional Hospital in February.

Tammy Carrigan-Warner, 41, of Sydney,andValerie MacGillivary, 47, of Glace Bay, are both former employees of the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

Health authority CEO Janet Knox saidTuesday the two were nurses. She said both were let go from their jobs "almost immediately"after the incident.

On Feb.23, the manwas found unresponsive on the sidewalk outside the hospital.Foul play was ruled out.

Documentation about the status of the patient during the overnight hours of Feb.22was allegedly forged, a Cape Breton Regional Police news release said.

Incident preventable, says CEO

TheCollege of Licensed Practical Nurses of Nova Scotiaand the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia have launched a joint investigation into the conduct of the two nurses, according to a statement.

The statement said there will be a "comprehensive investigation" and iflicensing sanctions result, they will be made public.

Knox told reporters in Halifax that officials believethe incident was preventableand a quality review has been launched. Officials have alsoapologized to the patient's family, she said.

"It is a very unfortunate, very sad incident," Knox said. "Folks have talked with the family. This is very, very hard for them, and I wantto say that we're very sorry. This should not be something that happens to people."

No furthercomment

Knox said there would be no commenton the circumstances of the case now that the police are involved.

The quality review will look at opportunities to improve services and improve the outcomes for patients. Knoxsaidif issues are identified, immediate action will be taken.

"Our ability as an organization to be safe and to be focused on safety means that we have to be nimble. And so as we begin reviews, we do not wait to have this all completed and say,'Well, now we need to change things.' As we're learning, we would share with our team members in terms of what we might have been able to do differently."