A nurse who repeatedly worked for an agency while claiming £5,000 sick pay from a hospital trust has been allowed to continue working for the NHS.
A panel of the Fitness to Practice Committee heard how Tanya Barker, who worked as a nurse at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, claimed sick pay totaling £5,303.63 over two years but continued to work for Thornbury Nursing Services.
Ms. Barker of Preston worked May 1, 2014; January 31, 2016; March 21, 2016 and March 22, 2016 while receiving sick pay from the Trust, with the panel finding her actions dishonest knowing she was not allowed to work for the agency while on sick leave.
The panel also found that she intended to disguise the trust she had worked with the agency and that her ability to work was impaired as a result of her misconduct.
The charges against Ms Barker — paid work while on sick leave, dishonest conduct and submission of inaccurate information — came after an investigation by the trust’s human resources department in 2018.
An information meeting was held on September 5, 2018, at which Ms. Barker initially denied the allegations.
However, after being shown documents from the agency, she made confessions.
The Trust then conducted a disciplinary hearing and she was released on November 30, 2018.
In June 2019, Ms Barker made full recordings with NHS fraud investigators and was questioned under caution where she offered to pay back sick pay received from the Trust.
A report from the Fitness and Fitness Committee hearing said: ‘Shortly after discharge you became a carer.
“They have also been working at a nursing home two nights a week to focus and help you get back into nursing.
“In January 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, you accepted a full-time position as a nursing home manager for residents with learning disabilities.
“You served in this role from January 2020 to July 2020. From July 2020 to February 2021 you held a clinical leadership position in a specialist unit for patients with Huntington’s disease.”
Ms Barker then returned for the NHS in February 2021, delivering training.
During the hearing, she expressed remorse for her past actions and, looking back, acknowledged that they were dishonest actions and poor decisions.
She explained that her life has evolved in the eight years since the wrongdoing, telling the panel she has paid back about half the money to the trust and is continuing to make repayments under a court settlement.
She explained that she “loves” nursing, it’s an integral part of her life, and she sees her “future in respiratory care.”
Ms Barker admitted all allegations but denied any current impairment.
However, the panel found her unfitness to work was impaired solely on grounds of public interest and she received a three-year warning, meaning her name on the NMC register shows she is subject to a warning and anyone inquiring about her registration will be informed about the order.
After the expiry of the period, the entry in the register will be removed from the register. However, the NMC will maintain a record of the panel’s determination that Ms. Barker’s ability to work was found to be impaired.
A spokesman for East Lancashire Hospitals Trust said: “I make no apologies for the Trust’s very high expectations of the values and behaviors we expect from all colleagues.
“It is important that our patients can trust us and that we can trust each other.
“We will always take appropriate measures, using the processes in place to protect people and public funds from fraud.
“We are satisfied with the outcome of this hearing and the matter is closed.”
