Beaumont was charged after she was found to have falsified scripts for over-the-counter medications diclofenac, Ponstan and paracetamol.
NZ Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal chairwoman Susan Hughes, KC, says the tribunal did not consider the case warranted the midwife being suspended. Photo / Southland Times / Stuff
She used another midwife’s registration details, without her knowledge, to obtain these medications for herself, the tribunal said.
Prescription meds ‘reduced the cost’
On six occasions between March 7, 2022, and July 24, 2024, Beaumont submitted prescriptions either using the other midwife’s registration as the prescriber or the patient to obtain medications for her own use.
The medications were neither addictive nor had any retail value on the black market, the tribunal said.
Diclofenac was used to treat pain and inflammation and was available without a prescription.
Mefenamic acid (Ponstan) was also an anti-inflammatory and paracetamol was an analgesic, with both drugs available without prescription in certain dosages.
However, the tribunal acknowledged that a prescription reduced the cost of the medication.
‘Perfect storm’ of personal struggles
It was around this time that Beaumont was experiencing what the tribunal described as difficult personal, employment and family circumstances.
Beaumont was also experiencing episodes of physical pain and believed that over-the-counter medications were costly, GP visits were difficult to book and her injuries were not serious enough to justify emergency services.
She resolved to treat herself, Hughes said.
Registered midwife Jaydeen Beaumont graduated in 2013. Photo / 123rf
Beaumont admitted the offending and agreed it amounted to professional misconduct, either separately or cumulatively, in that it amounted to malpractice or negligence.
She also agreed it was likely to bring discredit to the profession.
Beaumont’s additional co-operation with the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC), which brought the charges against her, avoided the need for a full hearing.
Shining career
According to the decision, Beaumont was a registered midwife and graduated in 2013.
She has since worked as a lead maternity carer (LMC), a core midwife, a remote rural locum midwife, a lecturer and liaison in the Midwifery School, and a Māori midwifery adviser with the New Zealand College of Midwives.
Penalties available to the tribunal included cancellation or suspension of Beaumont’s registration, censure or a fine of up to $30,000, depending on circumstances.
It was submitted on Beaumont’s behalf that the least restrictive outcome in the circumstances was a combination of penalties short of cancellation or suspension.
Hughes said punishment was not a purpose of the disciplinary proceeding and the tribunal did not consider it a case warranting suspension, which would be disproportionate and unnecessary.
“It is in the public interest for the practitioner to be rehabilitated to ensure she continues in midwifery, and she is well supported in the profession and her personal life,” she said.
The PCC urged the tribunal to consider aggravating features such as the extent of Beaumont’s offending over the timeframe it occurred.
The PCC also pointed to the breach of trust in the use of her colleague’s registration to obtain the medications in question.
It said the deceit would have resulted in inaccurate pharmacological and medical records and “plainly amounts to dishonesty”.
The tribunal said Beaumont accepted all of those submissions.
However, in mitigation, she was able to rely on her personal circumstances.
Detection ‘threw her a lifeline’
Hughes said while it was not submitted, it was hard to avoid the view that the detection of Beaumont’s offending effectively “threw her a lifeline”.
“Ms Beaumont appears to have responded to these charges in a wholly positive fashion in that she has put her life in order,” Hughes said.
The censure from the tribunal included a list of conditions, including that Beaumont formally apologise to the colleague whose details she used.
Beaumont’s bid for permanent name suppression, on grounds including it might harm her current positions, did not hold sway with the tribunal, which noted she had continued in her employment since these charges were laid.
“Clearly, her employers are aware of the charges and aware of the circumstances leading to those charges and further aware of the steps she has taken to remediate herself,” Hughes said.
The tribunal urged Beaumont to turn the experience into a positive one in her role as a teacher by educating students about the need to maintain work-life balance and to seek help when necessary.
NZME has tried reaching Beaumont for comment.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.