Nurse claimed £8,500 in sick pay while working at another home

JON MACPHERSON

AMENTAL health nurse who fraudulently claimed nearly £8,500 in sick pay while working shifts at an Accrington nursing home is facing being struck off.

Madeline Louise Frances Abdilla worked for Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust at Balladen House mental health resource centre in Rawtenstall as a specialist practitioner.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practice hearing was told that between June and December 2016 she claimed to be ‘too unwell’ to work and had no other employment so received £8,492.29.

However the panel heard that she was later discovered to be working shifts at Church View Nursing Home in Accrington. She claimed the money from the NHS Trust through her payroll.

When NHS bosses confronted her she made ‘full admissions’ and confessed to working at the nursing home in April, July and November 2015 when she claimed to be too ill to work.

She also admitted lying to her line manager about the extra shifts during her return to work interview.

Abdilla pleaded guilty to fraud at Greater Manchester Magistrates Court in December 2017 and was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 24 months and ordered to pay £8,500 compensation and £85 costs.

The nurse, who was not present at the hearing in London and has no previous disciplinary matters on her record, has been given an 18-month interim suspension by the NMC. Pending any possible appeal she will then be struck off as a registered nurse.

The NMC said her conviction ‘reflects a significant period of sustained dishonesty’ and the fraud was ‘premeditated, systematic and longstanding’ resulting in a ‘significant financial gain’.

Panel chairman David Newman said: “Offences of sustained dishonesty for personal gain seriously undermine public confidence in the profession and the reputation of the profession.”

A Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “The Trust sets very high standards for its staff in line with professional codes of conduct and the Trust’s core values.

“There were issues with the professional conduct of this person, which were dealt with appropriately and this member of staff no longer works for the Trust.

“Our main priority was to ensure that there was no negative impact on our patients and we made the appropriate follow-up checks to ensure that this was the case.”