Nurse's £20k Fraud Exposed
NHS Nurse Struck Off for £20,000 Fraud After Manipulating Rosters for Unworked Shifts
Anonymous
Emergency department nurse Faith Chareka of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey was struck off the nursing register after being convicted of fraud by abuse of position for retrospectively adding 50 shifts to staff rosters for work she did not carry out between November 2020 and February 2023. The Nursing and Midwifery Council found she received nearly £20,000 (about €22,000) by claiming most shifts at enhanced rates and also accrued 540 hours of time off in lieu for unworked hours. The judge described her conduct as repeated and premeditated dishonesty over two years. Chareka pleaded guilty in 2024 and was given an 18-month suspended sentence, with requirements including rehabilitation activity and unpaid work, and she had already been dismissed by the trust in 2023. NMC case presenter Rosie Welsh said the offence targeted a publicly funded service under financial pressure and created potential risk to patients by undermining staffing and support in the emergency department. Chareka’s representative argued she had genuine remorse and insight.
Key Points
1
In the fitness-to-practise findings, the NMC described the misconduct as “the repeated allocation and booking of shifts you did not work” by “accessing the roster and adding shifts retrospectively for your financial and personal gain.”
2
The NMC committee said Chareka “manipulated the rostering system” to create payments for shifts she did not perform, explaining the fraud was tied directly to how she used and altered the staffing records.
3
Beyond patient-safety concerns, the NMC case presentation emphasized the wider operational impact: by taking time off in lieu for unworked hours, Chareka “plac[ed] an unfair burden on her colleagues and the trust's resources.”
4
One report states the NMC specifically linked the decision to public confidence, ruling the conduct “undermin[ed] public confidence and risked patient safety.”
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