A South Australian nurse has been disqualified from working as a nurse for 25 years, after she pleaded guilty to 66 charges related to her claiming to be registered while she was in fact suspended.

Helena Heaft presented herself as a registered nurse while working in a number of Aged Care facilities around the Adelaide area between February and June 2018. She had been suspended in January 2018 by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) in January 2018 after it was determined that it was appropriate to protect the health and safety of the public.

Subsequent to her practicing while suspended, the South Australian Health Practitioners Tribunal disqualified Heaft from applying for registration as a nurse for 25 years.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency also brought proceedings against Heaft in the Magistrates Court of South Australia. She pleaded guilty to 66 charges, and will be sentenced in December this year.

NMBA Chair Associate Professor Lynette Cusack called Heaft’s behaviour an abuse of trust, stating that she had manipulated “some of the most vulnerable people in our community”.

“The NMBA will always take action to protect the trust the community has in the profession”, Cusack added.