Vancouver Island nurse suspended for improperly accessing patient records

A medical stethoscope is seen in this undated image. (Shutterstock)

A Vancouver Island nurse has had his licence suspended for seven months for improperly accessing patient records, according to the professional regulator.

Edgardo Santiago, of Langford, entered into a consent agreement with the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives admitting to the misconduct and agreeing to the suspension. A summary of the agreement was posted online Monday.

According to the summary, the “practice issues” occurred in 2024 and 2025 and involved accessing records of patients who were not currently in his care.

“The college views the privacy of a person’s health information as sacrosanct. Individuals have a right to assume that their information is kept private and everyone in the health-care system has an obligation to protect that information,” the summary said.

“Only individuals who are ‘inside the circle of care’ should access patient records as privacy of patient health information is a fundamental rule and a universal value.”

In addition to the seven-month suspension, Santiago will be required to provide “independent confirmation” each month for period of six months that “no privacy concerns have arisen.”

Santiago was also found to have breached the terms of a prior consent agreement by “not informing the college of changes to their employment circumstances, as required.”

The summary does not say when or why the prior agreement was entered into.