Australia withdraws licence of Nigerian nurse sleeping on duty

By Samuel Ogunsona

A 25-Year-Old Nigerian nurse, Chimzuruoke Okembunachi, has lost her professional license in Australia

Her offense: sleeping on duty, a common practice in Nigeria where medical ethics is lowly

The tribunal set up for her case found her guilty, describing the act as “putting elderly patients at risk”.

As reported by Daily Mail on Friday, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on January 20th ruled that Ms Okembunachi’s actions in March 2024 amounted to professional misconduct, leading to the cancellation of her nursing registration.

Okembunachi, worked at Hardi Aged Care in Sydney from February 2024, but was suspended and resigned a month later after concerns were raised about her conduct while supervising staff and caring for 100 residents.

She added, “When I slept on night shift, I failed in supervising those staff members and the residents.”

The tribunal noted her “remorseful and contrite” attitude but ruled deregistration necessary, saying her actions “had the potential to endanger the lives of patients under her care.”