A Quebec Nurse Suspended After Getting Caught Eating Toast Got Her Punishment Reversed

The Quebec nurse facing a three-day suspension after she was caught eating toast in a CHSLD got her punishment reversed and cleared from her record, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de la Montérégie-Est announced Monday. In a press release, the health authority admitted that "the measure was too severe for the act committed."

The Journal de Québec first broke the story about the suspension. The outlet reports that she took the toast with peanut butter from the nursing home's resident food supply because she had skipped breakfast, unaware it wasn't allowed. The Journal identified the facility as the CHSLD du Chevalier-De Lévis.

In its statement Monday, the CISSS did not confirm it was referring to the nurse involved in the toast incident but multiple outlets have made the connection.

The network has also issued a public apology.

"We met with the employee and apologized to her," it said. "This situation does not call into question her professional competence. We are offering her all the support she needs."

"This incident does not represent the values of our institution nor the way we wish to treat our employees. We are sorry about this situation and reiterate that managers are available, attentive and caring for employees."

The nurse's union, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), had denounced her suspension.

"There are bigger issues in the [health] system," FIQ President Brigitte Pétrie told TVA. "I think that taking time to do an investigation, to determine if the person had really eaten the toast, then to take time to have meetings and end up suspending, it's a bit of a stretch for the action that was taken."

The CISSS committed to reviewing and revising its disciplinary process "to ensure that this situation does not occur again."

This article's left-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.