A nurse who took a €100 loan from a vulnerable resident at a Cheshire Ireland Home in Donegal has been found guilty of three counts of professional misconduct and breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses.
Mary Grace Dela Cruz Alegarme, who is from the Philippines, qualified as a nurse in 1999.
It was alleged she solicited the money from Patient A, who is 51 and has progressive multiple sclerosis, some cognitive disability and is in a wheelchair.
He is a totally-dependent resident at the Cheshire Home, which is funded by the Health Service Executive.
The allegations relate to events in March and April 2013.
The inquiry heard that Patient A disclosed the loan to other staff and Ms Alegarme repaid the money after a few days.
Ms Alegarme had said she needed the money to help a friend.
But Ms Alegarme had a joint account with her husband and did not want to access the money from it, as her husband would know.
She was dismissed on 17 June 2013 and the centre made a complaint to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.
On behalf of Ms Alegarme, Edward Matthews of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, said she admits the allegations are professional misconduct and poor professional performance.
Mr Matthews said she did not ask for the money directly.
He said she had an unblemished career, recognised this was a serious error but a singular mistake.
Mr Matthews said Ms Alegarme had significant remorse and was a competent nurse, who was held in high regard.
She currently works at Letterkenny University Hospital. She had been working at Cheshire Ireland part-time.
Nurse Alegarme told the inquiry she never solicited the money from Patient A.
She said the issue was her fault and she should have protected his welfare. She said she was very sorry for disrespecting him.
Patient A had asked her about her plans for the day and she mentioned she was waiting for the bank to open, so she could send money home to the Philippines.
She had explained that her mother had kidney failure.
Patient A said he wanted to help and gave her the €100 and she later returned the money.
Nurse Alegarme worked 11 hours a week at Cheshire Ireland in Donegal and started there in 2008.
She said she first met Patient A in 2009. He had no family and they built up a rapport.
He secured her telephone number and used to ring her out of hours sometimes, for some nursing help.
Nurse Alegarme said Patient A was very friendly and he became like a brother to her but that relationship was wrong, from a professional viewpoint.
She said she never took money from a patient before.
Nurse Alegarme said she made a mistake and was sorry for what happened and wanted to stay in nursing.
The issue of any sanction will be decided at a later stage by the board of the NMBI.
