A clinical nurse manager has admitted to making a number of modifications to the Mater Private Hospital Network staff payments system, causing unearned premium rate payments and entitlements to time in lieu to be credited to himself.
The sums involved amounted to more than €56,000 from May 2021 to August 2022, a fitness-to-practise inquiry was told.
Joseph Valenton is facing a number of allegations that he modified his time and attendance record on the Softworks system without adequate authority and that he knew or should have known the actions were inappropriate.
Mr Valenton admitted modifying some payment listings at the start of a fitness-to-practise inquiry convened by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) on Tuesday.
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However, Mr Valenton, representing himself, said his admissions related to only some of the allegations, which covered a timescale from May 4th, 2021 to August 26th, 2022. He also said while he made admissions regarding modifying some entries on the payments system, his actions were not inappropriate.
Chairwoman and board member of the NMBI, Mary Leahy, was told Mr Valenton also did not admit an allegation that his actions amounted to professional misconduct.
The inquiry heard that as a clinical nurse manager and/or as a nurse clinical site manager in the Mater Private Network, Mr Valenton modified his own records “without any and/or any adequate authority” to cause premium payments to be made.
It was also alleged the modifications resulted in time in lieu benefits and that he knew or ought to have known that his actions were inappropriate.
Counsel for the chief executive of the NMBI Caoimhe Daly, BL instructed by Niamh Dunford, solicitor of Fieldfisher LLP, said Mr Valenton had on one occasion been paid for his rostered shift. However, he had used his managerial “superuser” status to modify the software system to pay himself for an additional seven hours.
She said Mr Valenton had subsequently argued he had been working alone and was due the payment because he should have had a colleague with him.
Ms Daly said that on another occasion, Mr Valenton had said he had brought additional staff to the hospital network and was not being adequately paid for this.
She said regardless of what Mr Valenton put forward as an explanation for the additional payments, unilaterally modifying the payments system was inappropriate and a breach of trust.
The fitness-to-practise inquiry was told the Mater Private Network launched an investigation into the modifications and presented Mr Valenton with a list of 290 allegations in September 2022.
Following this, Mr Valenton agreed to make repayments of €20,000 to the Mater Private Network and completed these.He provided €10,000 by a cash lodgement and €10,000 by electronic transfer, on September 9th, 2022. He also resigned from Mater Private on that day.
The Mater Private Network determined the matter should be referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.
The board’s fitness-to-practise inquiry adjourned on Tuesday and will continue on a date to be advised.
At the conclusion of the inquiry, the committee will report to the board of the NMBI on its findings. In the event that the fitness to practise committee finds that one or more of the allegations have been upheld, they will also outline their recommended sanction to the board.
