At a hearing held on 14 July 2014 the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal considered a convictions charge, laid by the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) against midwife, Ms Jue Lisa Wang of Dunedin.  The charge arose following Ms Wang pleading guilty to and being convicted on three representative charges of dishonestly using a document with intent to obtain a pecuniary advantage.  The PCC asserted that the conviction reflected adversely on Ms Wang's fitness to practise as registered midwife.

The convictions related to Ms Wang making a large number of fraudulent claims as a lead maternity care midwife with the Ministry of Health.  The offending took place between December 2007 and September 2011.

There were three distinct methods to the offending:

• making non lead-maternity care urgent claims for services when those claims were not in fact urgent;
• claiming for services in first, second and third trimesters of pregnancies for clients who had left Ms Wang's care earlier, and
• claiming private practice fees for lead maternity care for clients for whom Ms Wang was already being paid to care for while employed full time as a registered midwife by Queen Mary Hospital in Dunedin.

Following Ms Wang's guilty plea, the Tribunal found the charge established.

The Tribunal censured Ms Wang and ordered her suspension for 4 months from 16 October 2014.  On resumption of practice, for a period of 3 years, Ms Wang must not hold a contract with the Ministry of Health as a provider of services and must provide her employer a copy of the Tribunal's decision.  For one year following resumption of practice, Ms Wang must engage in supervision.  Ms Wang was ordered to pay costs totalling $4,665.