A health care assistant has been given a suspended prison sentence after using a deceased patients card to buy snacks.
Health care assistant Ayesha Basharat took the card of a patient who passed away 17 minutes earlier. She used the card to make six different £1 purchases from the vending machine in Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham.
She made more purchases of a similar nature later that day. On returning to work on the 28th, she found the card was cancelled. When she was arrested by West Midlands Police, the card was still in her possession.
Ayesha received a suspended sentence at Birmingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to theft and fraud by false representation.
Health Care Assistant given suspended sentences
Miss Basharat claims that she found the patients card, simply confusing the two. However, this was deemed incorrect as the cards were different colours.
In addition, the hospitals policy surrounding patients lost property was ignored. Miss Basharat was given two five month sentences, which are suspended for 18 months.
Detective Constable describes the crime as an “abhorrent breach of trust”. The patients family, who are coming to terms with the death of a loved one, are very distressing to the victims family.
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