Medics conned NHS

Two medics who fleeced the NHS out of thousands of pounds by getting paid for a string of training courses which they never delivered have walked free from court.

Clinical Placements facilitator Jamie Pearson, 38, and 51-year-old Teresa Kiely devised a scheme where he would be paid in advance for taking unauthorised lectures.

In her 42,000-a-year job as a workforce development co-ordinator for the Sussex Downs and Weald PCT, Kiely held her own budget and paid Pearson 26,600 to hold 67 courses at 300-400 per session.

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Thirteen were cancelled and a further 11 never taken but the pair still took a cut in the cash - splitting it 75/25 in Pearson's favour.

Separated Kiely booked Pearson to take ten diversity awareness lectures but ended doing the training herself behind her employer's back while on leave.

Father-of-two Pearson even set up a business as a "front" to pay the money into so suspicions would not be raised.

On their arrest in April last year both claimed the other had profited from the scam, Hove Crown Court heard.

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Pearson, of Whatlington Road, Battle, and Kiely, of Ersham Road, Hailsham, admitted conspiracy to defraud the South Downs and Weald NHS Trust out of 26,600.

Jailing the pair for 12 months, but suspending the sentence for two years, Judge Guy Anthony told them: "The health service has enough financial problems without the likes of you defrauding it."

The court heard the friends hatched the plot after meeting on a master's degree course in education in 2004 at Brighton University.

Department of Work and Pensions prosecutor Christina Rowberry told the court that although the courses worth 26,600 had been booked, the trust had in fact lost just 8,700.

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She said: "An agreement was entered into that Mr Pearson would do training for South Downs and Weald NHS Trust.

"He submitted invoices in advance and they would be endorsed and paid by Kiely on behalf of that trust.

"Out of 67 courses, 13 were cancelled and he failed to attend 11 of them. Out of the 13, some were cancelled by the trust as not enough staff took up a place.

"Pearson would be paid in advance, which was not in the rules, but for booking them Kiely received 25% of the course fee charged to the trust.

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"The fee was 300 which then went up to 400 which was split 75/25 to Pearson. The crown's case is he set up a business as a front for the two of them to continue to facilitate the agreement."

The court heard the fraud was discovered when another manager was brought in to help with stressed Kiely's workload.

Both denied masterminding the scam for financial gain - Kiely claiming she was under pressure at work to find people to run the courses and Pearson saying he needed to complete 200 hours of tutoring for his master's.

Married Pearson told fraud investigators he intended to complete all the courses he had been paid to run but had been arrested before fulfilling his promise.

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John Lamb, defending, told the court Pearson, employed by East Sussex County Health Care Trust, had been working as a 26,000-a-year midwife since the fraud came to light but had plans to retrain as an electrician if stripped of his nursing licence.

He added: "He was effectively overcharging the trust by 100 per course then giving the overpayment to his co-defendant.

"The 8,700 includes the diversity awareness training which was given and would have been paid for, the money was just paid to the wrong person.

"He had financial problems and being paid to take the courses was the main benefit to him. He had significant debt and has re-mortgaged his home."

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William Emlyn-Jones, defending Kiely who has been sacked by the trust and now works as a 150-a-week cleaner, said: "She was doing it because she was increasingly failing in her job to provide training for staff.

"Things spiralled out of control because she lost her grip. The tragedy of all of this is that she was highly regarded as a successful nurse and healthcare trust manager.

"The good name she made for herself and has all been thrown away."

Ordering the pair pay 1,750 each in compensation to the trust, Judge Anthony said: "The public have been defrauded of this money."

They were also told they would be supervised for a year and ordered to complete 300 hours' of unpaid community work each.

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