B.C. patients learning they were treated by alleged fake nurse
A number of past patients at a Vancouver hospital are learning they were treated by a woman accused of fraudulently posing as a nurse.
Brigitte Cleroux is charged with fraud over $5,000 and personation with intent in British Columbia and is also accused of similar offences in other parts of Canada.
The woman allegedly used a real nurse's name while "providing medical care to patients" at B.C. Women's Hospital, according to the Vancouver Police Department. She worked at the hospital for an entire year, from June 2020 to June 2021.
Patients who are believed to have had interactions with Cleroux are now finding out through letters sent by the Provincial Health Services Authority.
Paige Morris was a patient at the hospital in May 2021, when she was admitted for a surgical abortion.
“The nurse that attended to me and gave me my medication was Brigitte Cleroux,” Morris said. “I remember that she was really rude, like she was really condescending with the other people that were working, her colleagues and stuff. She was shouting a lot.”
Morris said she received a letter last week that notified her that an "individual was involved with the care you received at B.C. Women’s,” though the woman wasn’t named.
Morris then saw Cleroux's photo in the news.
“Her face was on the front of the first article I saw and I was like, that’s the woman that treated me that day,” she said.
Vanessa Sawrey also received a letter after having surgery in February to find an IUD that had “gone rogue” in her body.
“I don't remember which nurses I had really taking care of me, because I was completely out of it,” Sawrey said, adding Cleroux may have been involved in treating her while she was under anaesthetic.
Cleroux has faced similar charges before. In 2010, the professional body that oversees nurses in Alberta issued a warning about Brigitte Cleroux Marier, when she was charged for falsely impersonating a registered nurse. She was previously convicted in Ontario of similar offences and sentenced to six months in prison, fined $60,000 and given two years' probation.
When asked about the allegations during B.C.’s COVID-19 briefing, Health Minister Adrian Dix said it was “completely unacceptable” that a person could work under those circumstances.
A spokesperson for the Provincial Health Services Authority provided a written statement to CTV News, acknowledging Cleroux's record and assuring that the government is "reviewing this matter fully to determine how this occurred, any internal processes that may have contributed to it, and impact to patients.”
Cleroux is currently in Ontario and made her first appearance remotely in B.C. court on Tuesday. The case was adjourned until Jan. 5, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.