NHS medical assistant sent to jail for theft
Douglas Stevenson, an NHS anesthetic assistant from Glasgow, Scotland, has been convicted and sentenced to 20 months in jail for stealing 23,000 pounds worth of medical goods and equipment used for surgical purposes. He then proceeded to sell these items on Ebay.
In 2006, it was highlighted by a report from NHS Security Management Service that there were 11 thefts of medical equipment within the NHS in the previous year. Consequently, in 2008, Channel 4, a UK television channel, was able to highlight, that ten million pounds of medical equipment are stolen from the NHS every year. Following this, only last year, it was revealed a nurse in Southampton, England was sentenced to a jail term of 18 months for stealing 17, 000 pounds worth of medical equipment and then selling it on Ebay.
Stevenson's illegal acts were discovered when the manufacturers of these items realized that highly specialized medical equipment was being sold on the above auction site. This consequently led to the NHS Counter Fraud Services (CFS) starting an investigation into these facts where they found out that Stevenson's duties allowed him to access medical equipment and goods when required. Following this, there was a raid in Stevenson's home organized by Strathclyde Police and CFS investigators who found that he had be hiding a surplus of 200 items of medical goods in his garage.
Stevenson had been in contact with buyers from America and Australia for the sale of this equipment. Maggie Worsfold, from NHS Scotland CFS, commented on his actions and his subsequent jail term by saying that these actions strongly demonstrate that NHS fraud will not be endured especially by the CFS and that harsh consequences will prevail for those who prevent money from being used for patient care.
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