Health chiefs from a UK NHS trust which allowed a bogus nurse to treat hundreds of patients insisted that they have “robust measures” in place to check staff.
Christina Barrett, 53, was given a suspended prison sentence after it was discovered she had been working as a staff nurse at a hospital despite not being fully trained.
The mother-of-two pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court to obtaining services by deception, obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception and fraud.
She was handed a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to pay £620 costs and do 100 hours of community service.
During the case, it was revealed she had managed to get a genuine nurse’s identification number to get back into work in 2003.
Despite not being fully trained she had then managed to get a job as a staff nurse on a surgical ward at Northampton General Hospital.
Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust said it had always undertaken thorough checks to ensure clinical staff were properly qualified and registered with the appropriate professional bodies.
Interim chief executive Helen O’Shea said: “We deeply regret this situation and have carried out a hospital-based review, led by an independent assessor.”
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