Nurse asking court to overturn penalties for Facebook posts
Prince Albert nurse Carolyn Strom has filed an appeal to a Saskatoon court, seeking to overturn a Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association decision to fine her for comments she made on her personal Facebook page about her grandfather’s medical care.
The notice of appeal was filed in Court of Queen’s Bench in Saskatoon on April 27, less than a month after the SRNA’s disciplinary committee levied the $26,000 penalty. It asks the court to find Strom not guilty and award her costs.
According to the notice, the disciplinary action and punishment violated her charter rights, including freedom of thought and expression. The appeal characterizes the penalty as “excessive” and “unreasonable under all of the circumstances” and argues that it exceeds the SRNA’s statutory authority.
In an interview with the StarPhoenix, Strom’s lawyer, Marcus Davies, said the decision has a chilling effect on free speech.
“I think this speaks very much about quieting criticism of the public health-care system, which I don’t think is appropriate. I think if we are going to ensure that our public health-care system belongs to us, the members of the public, we have to be able to participate in a free discussion of that healthcare system,” Davies said. “And that means if we’re going to have a valuable conversation about health care, the people who work in it have to be able to take part in the conversation.”
The decision may also affect other self-regulating professions, such as accounting, engineering, law or architecture, he said.
On April 4, Strom, a Prince Albert Parkland Health Region nurse, became the first nurse in Saskatchewan to be punished for comments on social media.
In February 2015, she posted an article about end-of-life care and commented on her personal Facebook page about her grandfather’s care at a health facility in Macklin. Staff of the facility then complained to the SRNA.
The discipline committee found her guilty in October 2016. She was later fined $1,000 for professional misconduct and ethics breaches and levied an additional $25,000 to cover the cost of the investigation and the hearing. Strom has until July 1 to pay the $1,000 fine and until April 2020 to pay the remaining $25,000 or she faces suspension of her licence.
In its penalty decision, the discipline committee stated it doesn’t seek to “muzzle” RNs from using social media, but “registered nurses making public comments and criticisms (in whatever forum) must do so in accordance with the Code of Ethics and Standards.”
A group of registered nurses from across the country launched a GoFundMe page in support of Strom. The campaign exceeded its target goal of $26,000 in less than two weeks.
In an email on Tuesday, Carolyn Hoffman, executive director of the SRNA, said it would be unfair and inappropriate to comment before the appeals process is completed.