Posted 23 July 2024 - 16:43
Posted 23 July 2024 - 16:43
News
Fraudster nurse lied to secure job as neonatal ward manager
Health board insists required pre-employment checks were undertaken, after matron discovers discrepancies in fraudster Tanya Nasir’s experience and qualifications on CV
Health board insists required pre-employment checks were undertaken, after matron discovers discrepancies in fraudster Tanya Nasir’s experience and qualifications on CV
NHS Employers has stressed the importance of pre-employment checks after a fraudster was able to get a job as a senior neonatal nurse.
Tanya Nasir, from Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, lied about her experience and qualifications to secure a job as a band 7 ward manager at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend in September 2019, but her dishonesty was not discovered for four months.
On 16 July, she was found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court of nine counts of fraud and false representation, which she had denied.
Fraudster nurse claimed she was deployed in active combat as military nurse in Afghanistan
Nasir maintained a long list of deceits, including claiming she was deployed in active combat in Afghanistan while working as a military nurse, and listing qualifications from three separate universities that she had not attended. She also provided a false reference from a manager that had left her former trust ten months before she worked there.
While studying for a diploma in higher nursing education from Buckinghamshire New University in 2010, she failed to disclose a conviction and later fabricated a probation letter from police, in breach of the university’s policies.
NHS Employer guidance outlines six standard employment checks that employers should undertake before employment, including a professional registration check with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), qualification check and criminal record check.
Cym Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, which runs the hospital, say these checks were carried out ahead of Nasir’s employment.
Matron noted irregularities in CV after Nasir began work
Crown Prosecution Service specialist prosecutor Gayle Ramsay said: ‘Tanya Nasir deliberately lied about her qualifications and employment history so that she could gain employment in a senior and sensitive nursing role where she would be entrusted with the responsibility of caring for newborn babies.
‘Nasir not only lied in respect of her own qualifications but also lied on behalf of others. In doing so she betrayed the trust of employers and colleagues and showed a total disregard for the welfare and safety of vulnerable patients, putting their lives at significant risk.’
Nasir had been working in the neonatal unit at the Princess of Wales Hospital for four months when a matron on the ward checked her Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration PIN, which showed she had qualified four years later than she had claimed on her CV.
On discovering the irregularity, the matron became suspicious and began checking Nasir’s credentials, which led to her being suspended from her role in February 2020.
When South Wales police later searched her home, they found fake diploma certificates.
Fraudster had ‘extremely minimal’ contact with babies and families
The hospital said that during the six-month period Nasir worked in the neonatal unit, she had a ‘largely office-based role’ and her ‘contact with babies and families was extremely minimal.’
A health board spokesperson said all of the relevant pre-employment checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and checks of Nasir’s NMC registration, had been undertaken.
They added: ‘It has been proven that Ms Nasir had acted fraudulently throughout her career, and it is testament to the staff and internal processes at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, that all alleged discrepancies were promptly discovered and dealt with following her employment.’
‘Highlights the importance of due diligence in checking process’
NHS Employers’ director of development and employment Caroline Waterfield said: ‘While we do not have access to the specific details of this case beyond what has been reported in the media, it highlights the importance of due diligence in the checking process and of following up on any concerns or inconsistencies in the information provided by individuals.
‘Employers are required to undertake a range of checks on all staff. These are set out in the NHS Employment Check Standards, a set of six check requirements that help employers determine the suitability of individuals to undertake a particular role.’
Nasir is due be sentenced on 24 September.
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