"The most egregious and disgraceful conduct this panel has ever considered,” is how the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is describing the serial murders committed by former nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer.
A CNO discipline panel revoked Wettlaufer's nursing registration on Tuesday, almost two months after she pleaded guilty to the insulin-overdose murders of eight nursing home residents in London and Woodstock. She was also convicted of four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault. She has been sentenced to life in prison.
Documents, as well as Wettlaufer's admissions of her actions during the criminal proceedings, were presented as part of the hearing.
In delivering the decision, panel chair Grace Fox called the case, “the most egregious and disgraceful conduct this panel has ever considered.” She added that the public places enormous trust in nurses and “Elizabeth Wettlaufer breached that in the worst possible way.”
“The families and the loved ones of the victims have been devastated,” said CNO prosecutor Meagan Shortreed.Wettlaufer was not present during the hearing.
In a statement issued following the hearing, the CNO said it welcomes an an independent public inquiry into the circumstances of Wettlaufer's case. The Ontario government announced the inquest on the day Wettlaufer was sentenced.
"We support the opportunity to find ways to prevent this from happening again," the CNO said in the statement. "We owe it to Ontarians to clearly understand how this happened and what systemic improvements can be made so that all of us working within the health care system can work together as effectively as possible to protect and care for our loved ones."