Nurse Packs Patient's Anus with Gauze Instead of Wound

A former Winnipeg nurse, Kamaljeet Kaur Dherdi, faced disciplinary action from the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba for professional misconduct stemming from a March 2025 incident. While tending to an immobile resident at Holy Family Home, Dherdi mistakenly packed approximately 10 centimetres of gauze into the patient's anus instead of dressing a wound on their buttock.

The resident experienced discomfort due to the packing. The wound, located about 10 to 15 centimetres from the anus, remained untreated for nearly five hours, raising concerns about potential infection. The error was discovered when the resident sought assistance, revealing the uncovered wound.

Dherdi voluntarily surrendered their nursing license shortly after the incident. Initially denying the mistake and suggesting another caregiver was responsible, Dherdi later accepted fault, attributing the error to a "significant lack of attention," possibly due to fatigue.

The disciplinary panel deemed the mistake "disturbing in the extreme" and "inexplicable and unacceptable by any standard," rejecting claims of fatigue as an excuse for the "grossly deficient level of care." Dherdi must pay $8,000 in investigative costs.

If Dherdi wishes to regain their nursing license, they must complete mandatory courses in client assessment, critical thinking, professionalism, and wound management. Further requirements include 2,015 hours of supervised practice, mandatory accompaniment by another RN, and limitations on employment arrangements, such as being barred from staffing agencies or self-employment.