Registration of disgraced nurse cancelled

Jennifer Scott. Photo: ODT files
Jennifer Scott. Photo: ODT files
A disgraced Dunedin nurse who spread vaccine disinformation and transphobic vitriol has had her registration cancelled.

Jennifer Scott was also ordered to pay costs of $45,366 by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in a ruling released this week.

Scott, who called herself "Terf [trans-exclusionary radical feminist] of the South" online, failed to turn up for last month’s two-day hearing after the Nursing Council of New Zealand brought the case against her.

At its conclusion, tribunal chairwoman Theo Baker said the misconduct allegations against Ms Scott were proven.

"Overall, the tribunal found the conduct brings, or is likely to bring, discredit to the profession, and is sufficiently serious to warrant a disciplinary sanction," she said.

Days after the hearing, Scott started a Givealittle page entitled "mandated and homeless" asking for people to donate to her and her partner — convicted murderer Gresham Kirsten Leith Marsh (now David Jones) — so they could buy a caravan or campervan.

The once outspoken ex-nurse has refused the Otago Daily Times’ requests for comment and the pages appears to have been removed.

Scott stopped working in her chosen field when she refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and she took her opposition a step further, posting frequently on her public Facebook page, urging people to adopt her stance.

In January 2022, she posted baseless claims that 127 New Zealanders had died from being vaccinated and later took aim at epidemiologist Prof Michael Baker, a vocal advocate for the vaccine.

"I have a good pair of scissors waiting just for you," Ms Scott wrote.

Six months later she made headlines over a public submission she made to the Dunedin City Council, raising concerns around transgender women using female changing facilities, referring to herself as a "registered nurse".

The incident sparked several complaints from members inside and outside the profession.

In December 2022, she accosted a Dunedin man and his long-haired non-binary partner at a Cambodian restaurant.

"Are you trying to be a woman? You will never be a woman," she said, before labelling them "perverts".

The tribunal formally censured Scott and imposed rigorous conditions on any potential return to nursing.

Before working again, Scott would have to provide "a reflective statement demonstrating her understanding of the principles of both the Nursing Council’s code of conduct and the Guidelines of Cultural Safety, the Treaty of Waitangi and Māori health in nursing education and practice".

She would then have to meet with a member of the council to explain her re-education.

rob.kidd@odt.co.nz

 

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