A nurse scammed the NHS in a brazen wages hustle at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Emma Lavelle stole more than £1500 in wages for shifts she did not work by “exploiting a weakness in the NHS system”. 

She has now been suspended after being convicted of the “fraudulent scheme” in which she took advantage of a new temporary staffing payment system.

This allowed Lavelle and other staff nurses to sign off privileges on shifts which she and a colleague used to submit claims for payment of fake hours.

By authorising the payment of these shifts for each other they reportedly obtained £3096.40 by fraud.

Lavelle and her colleague were referred to the Procurator Fiscal. In April 2019, both were charged with the fraudulent scheme.

In October 2020, her guilty plea was amended to reflect the deletion of the amount of £3096.40 in the charge and the insertion of the amended amount of £1504.88.

Then in the November, she was sentenced to a restriction of liberty order and ordered to pay £752.44 compensation to the health board.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practise committee held a virtual meeting earlier this month to discuss Lavelle’s fitness to work.

David Claydon was one of the NMC representatives at the hearing in which he blasted Lavelle for “exploiting the NHS system” with “premeditated, deception for financial gain”.

Mr Claydon said: "Over a sustained period of time you made dishonest claims for shifts that were not worked and that you exploited a weakness in the NHS system.

"A member of the public should, quite rightly, expect nurses to maintain impeachable integrity and probity and if they were appraised of your behaviour, it may well damage the reputation of, and undermine trust and confidence in the nursing profession.

"You had engaged in a premeditated, systematic and long-standing deception over a period of approximately six months on the NHS to obtain a significant sum of money for personal financial gain.”

A report from the NMC said: “The panel found that your conduct had breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute.

“It was satisfied that confidence in the nursing profession would be undermined if its regulator did not take extremely seriously this charge involving dishonesty.

“The panel noted that you have been convicted in a criminal court and that the sentence has been completed.

“It further noted that your current employer is supporting you and it has provided testimonials that you are open, honest, and trustworthy.

“Given that there have been no concerns about your practice as a nurse the panel decided that a finding of impairment is not necessary on the grounds of public protection.

“However, given the limitations of your current insight, it cannot be satisfied that the risk of repetition of similar behaviour is highly unlikely.”

Following the hearing, Lavelle was handed a 12-month suspension with review and an 18-month interim suspension order.