Hamilton woman guilty in poisoning death of young son on police radar in Newfoundland
When Lisa Strickland was handed a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for her role in the opioid poisoning death of her young son, she expected to lose her nursing licence and planned to study a trade online once released on probation.
At least, that's what she told a Hamilton judge in January 2021.
Instead, after spending 75 days behind bars with credit for time served, Strickland moved back to her native province of Newfoundland and started to work as a nurse again - under a different name and without a licence.
Newfoundland RCMP say they are investigating after Strickland allegedly managed to work at a long-term care home in Gander, N.L., for nearly three months using an alias and the licence number of an existing registered nurse with a similar name.
Should the investigation yield charges, we will issue a news release which will outline any charges laid, including any breaches of conditions," Cpl. Jolene Garland said in a statement to The Spectator.
Strickland is still serving out a three-year probationary sentence in connection with her guilty plea of criminal negligence causing death of her four-year-old son, Kane Driscoll, whose lifeless body was found in her Hamilton Mountain home in September 2017. Months later, toxicology results showed he died of hydromorphone poisoning after somehow ingesting his mom's pain medication.
The RCMP said it began probing Strickland in late December after Central Health Newfoundland, the province's regulatory health authority, notified them about a contract travel nurse who was suspected of having a fake licence and impersonating a registered nurse.
In a statement last month, Central Health said a woman using the name Lisa Driscoll worked 25 shifts at Lakeside Homes between Aug. 19 and Nov. 7 without a valid nursing licence.
She got the contract job after applying through a province-approved staffing agency, Solutions Staffing Inc., and using the licence number of another registered nurse with a very similar name.
Central Health works closely with several staffing agencies to provide extra nursing support where required," Central Health president and CEO Andree Robichaud said in the Dec. 21 statement. The agencies are responsible for vetting and verifying the credentials of the applicants.
In this instance, the licence was verified in error by Solutions Staffing Inc."
According to a list of unregistered practitioners compiled by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), Strickland has been flagged for using two aliases to get nursing jobs without proper qualification: Lisa Driscoll and Michelle Driscoll.
A CNO spokesperson said Strickland hasn't practised in Ontario since August 2020 and her registration was officially resigned" Dec. 22, 2022 - one day after Central Health Newfoundland issued its statement.
Central Health said a thorough review of Strickland's time at Lakeside found no impacts to patient care or harm to the facility. They did, however, find she was cited for two performance issues that were unrelated to resident care.
Despite patient care going unaffected, the Registered Nurses' Union Newfoundland and Labrador called the incident shocking and deeply disturbing."
This travel nurse was flagged by the College of Nurses of Ontario as far back as June," the union said in a statement, referring to a CNO discipline notice about Strickland last summer. It's very concerning (Staffing Solutions Inc.) did not have the appropriate verification and accountability processes in place."
Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com