A young nurse who had a threesome with two vulnerable patients and offered them self-harm advice has been banned for five years.
Teagan Maree Cant was found guilty of professional misconduct for her behavior towards two women, aged 26 and 27, whom she helped treat for life-threatening mental health issues at a Perth hospital in 2020.
The disturbing allegations about Cant’s behavior were made by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Australia and detailed in court documents heard by the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal on October 10.
The court heard Cant had sex with patient A, aged 27, on three occasions, including on the same day she was released from hospital after a month’s stay.
She also kissed her at a nightclub, attended her birthday party and chatted with her on Facebook Messenger, including while she was hospitalized.
During Patient A’s month-long admission for management of complex PTSD with depressed mood, Cant offered her a “suture removal blade…to help her with self-harm or to commit suicide” while in a treatment room with her.
A young nurse who had a threesome with two vulnerable patients and offered them self-harm advice has been banned for five years. Pictured: Stock image of a nurse holding a diary
When Cant offered him the blade, Patient A refused it.
She also failed to assess his injuries or report his attempts at self-harm.
During this admission, Cant developed a relationship with the patient by sharing information about her own relationship, her traumatic experiences and her “serious mental health issues.”
The same day that Patient A finally left the hospital, Cant went to her home with the 26-year-old woman, known as Patient B.
Patient B fell asleep on a couch while Cant had sex with Patient A, but then joined them for the “threesome.”
I cannot have had sexual relations with Patient A on two other occasions: on August 1, 2020 and “having sexual contact by kissing her” at a nightclub on August 14.
Patient B was admitted to the same hospital as an inpatient with increasing low mood and suicidal ideation for a total of eight weeks in mid-2020.
During her stay, Patient B admitted feeling suicidal to Cant, who responded “that won’t work” and then described the medications she would use to “guarantee death.”
“If I had to, I would use (a particular drug),” Cant told him.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board alleged that Cant “engaged in inappropriate conduct and contact and/or transgressed professional boundaries with respect to Patients A and B.”
He also alleged that she violated codes of conduct and ethics on several issues, including “professional boundaries” and the “professional responsibility of the nurse to the people in her care”, and that she had not respected the standards surrounding “professional and personal relations”.
Cant worked as a registered nurse at Perth Hospital between March and September 2020 when she was dismissed for disciplinary reasons.
The court heard she acknowledged “the seriousness of her conduct and expressed significant regret and remorse” and was suffering personal stress at the time.
She was unable to apply for registration as a health care practitioner until 2028 and was ordered to pay $3,000 for hearing costs.
