Nurse admits to giving elderly women too many drugs

OTTAWA — A registered practical nurse accused of over-medicating elderly residents in her care at a Barrhaven long-term care home admitted giving drugs to some of the patients early, her former supervisor testified Monday. Monique Patterson, the director of care at Longfields Manor, testified that Eileen Peters initially denied giving 80-year-old Goldie Cole and nine other residents their allotted doses of prescription medicine hours early when confronted with the allegations, but later confessed to giving some of the patients their drugs sooner than they were supposed to receive them. Ms. Peters, 59, is charged with one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, 10 counts of administering a noxious thing, 10 counts of administering an extra dose of medication that was likely to constitute mischief causing danger to life and one count of forging documents. Ms. Patterson said Ms. Peters’ admission came three days after Mrs. Cole’s son, John Cole, arrived at the nursing home at about 6:30 p.m. on July 10, 2007, to find his mother lethargic and staff fearing that she had suffered a stroke. When a registered nurse ruled out a stroke as the cause of the lethargy, court heard Mr. Cole — who had been suspicious for some time that his mother was being over-medicated by Ms. Peters — immediately demanded to see her medication. That’s when it was discovered that the medicine Mrs. Cole was supposed to take at bedtime, including the narcotic Dilaudid, was missing from the home’s medical cart. It was later discovered that drugs for nine other patients were also nowhere to be found.Medical records, initialed by Ms. Peters, were located that indicated the drugs had allegedly been given to the residents between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., even though there was no way that could have occurred.