Nurse awarded €16,200 in compensation for abusive transfer

A specialised nurse who was transferred from Mater Dei hospital to St Vincent de Paule after reporting harassment at the hands of colleagues has been reinstated and awarded €16,270 in compensation by a court, after her transfer was found to be abusive.

Rita Vella had started a placement at the Cardiac Catheterisation Suite in 2000, three years after being employed by government as a registered nurse at the hospital.

Vella was promoted to staff nurse in 2005 and transferred in August 2011.

After attending a conference in Cyprus, it transpired that the attitude of colleagues towards Vella had palpably and had deteriorated further following other incidents.

Mr. Justice Joseph R. Micallef was told that Vella’s reports of violent harassment had been ignored; a complaint raised by another nurse saw Vella being hauled before a disciplinary board and then transferred to St. Vincent de Paule.

Vella's husband, a nurse in the same ward, was told he would be transferred.

The judge found that Vella had indeed suffered an unfair transfer, observing that the disciplinary board had not given her a fair hearing.

In addition, the court noted that Vella's departure from the suite had had a negative impact on the ward's operation and that she had been transferred before the conclusion of disciplinary proceedings – which had eventually only issued her a warning, after all charges had been dropped.

The court held that the Chief Medical Officer had exceeded his remit by ordering the nurse's transfer, saying that this constituted an abusive administrative action which ran contrary to the principles of natural justice.

Making reference to jurisprudence, which established that pecuniary damages are “a means of ensuring that powers are exercised responsibly, in good faith and with due care,"the court condemned the Chief Medical Officer to pay Vella €16,270 as compensation and ordered Vella to be reinstated into her position.

Lawyer Michael Tanti-Dougall appeared for Vella.