NEWS
Nigerian Woman Defrauds NHS Using Fake ID, Puts Patients and Staff at Risk, Sentenced in Cardiff Court
A woman with no formal medical qualifications has been sentenced for defrauding the NHS by working as a healthcare support worker using a false ID, Cardiff Crown Court has heard.
Oluwabunmu Adeleiyi, 30, a Nigerian national residing in Canton, Cardiff, on a student visa, worked at Neath Port Talbot Hospital and at the Caswell Clinic in Bridgend under fraudulent pretences.
The court was told that Adeleiyi, alongside two accomplices, used the same fake IDs to bill the NHS approximately £16,000 a month through various employment agencies.
Adeleiyi pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation. She was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for each offence, to run concurrently, suspended for two years. Two counts related to her work at the hospital in Port Talbot and two to the medium-secure mental health unit in Bridgend.
The fraud was uncovered when Adeleiyi was finishing a night shift at the Caswell Clinic. A receptionist noticed that a passport photo had been affixed to the ID card, which was kept in a plastic wallet. When challenged, Adeleiyi refused to hand over shift documentation, prompting the issue to be escalated to senior management at the Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB), who declared a critical incident.
An internal investigation revealed staff had observed “bizarre” behaviour during her shifts, including locking herself in a room on a ward and securing doors in corridors that were not permitted to be locked due to fire regulations or the need to assist violent patients.
Despite having no training in restraint techniques, Adeleiyi had access to confidential patient notes and even made additions to observation notes herself. Health board officials warned that the potential risks “could have been catastrophic.”
The court heard that Adeleiyi used the ID of a registered healthcare support worker who had fled the UK for Nigeria using a false passport.
Judge Recorder Mark Powell KC told Adeleiyi: “You put the patients at risk… you put staff at risk.” She was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid community service.
Speaking after the hearing, Neil Jones, lead counter-fraud specialist for SBUHB, said: “Today’s sentence serves to illustrate that any fraud perpetrated against the NHS, especially where individuals target vulnerable patients or staff will be investigated fully and dealt with through the judicial system.”
Jones added that Adeleiyi had used fraudulent nursing agency identification supplied by an overseas organised crime group.
He stressed: “Thankfully, she had minimal interaction with patients and a review carried out by the health board determined that no harm was caused to any patients.”
This case highlights the ongoing threats of identity fraud in healthcare settings and the strict measures in place to protect both patients and staff from unqualified individuals posing as medical professionals.