A Nigerian student Oluwabunmu Adeleiyi has been jailed in the United Kingdom after defrauding the National Health Service by working as a healthcare support worker using a false identity.
Adeleiyi who was living in Canton Cardiff was in the UK on a student visa when she worked at Neath Port Talbot Hospital and the Caswell Clinic in Bridgend. Cardiff Crown Court heard that she and two accomplices used the same identification documents to secure work through different employment agencies and fraudulently bill the NHS about sixteen thousand pounds every month.
The court was told that Adeleiyi pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation. She was sentenced to ten months imprisonment for each offence with the sentences running concurrently and suspended for two years. In addition the court ordered her to complete one hundred hours of unpaid community service.
Two of the fraud charges related to work carried out at Neath Port Talbot Hospital while the remaining two involved the Caswell Clinic a medium secure mental health unit in Bridgend. The fraud was uncovered when Adeleiyi signed out after a night shift at the Caswell Clinic. A receptionist noticed that a passport photograph had been placed on an identification card kept in a plastic wallet. When questioned Adeleiyi reportedly refused to hand over her shift documentation.
The issue was escalated to senior management at Swansea Bay University Health Board which declared a critical incident. An internal investigation revealed that staff had previously raised concerns about Adeleiyi unusual behaviour during shifts including locking herself alone in ward rooms and securing corridor doors that were not authorised to be locked. These actions posed potential safety risks during emergencies.
Despite lacking training in restraint techniques Adeleiyi had access to confidential patient records and made entries in observation notes. Health officials told the court that the risks involved could have been catastrophic.
Passing sentence Judge Recorder Mark Powell KC said she had put both patients and staff at risk. NHS officials said the case highlights the seriousness of fraud against the health service and confirmed that no patients were harmed.
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