Hospital worker arrested, charged for using dead patient’s card minutes after death

Hospital worker arrested, charged for using dead patient’s card minutes after death

A health care worker in the United Kingdom has been convicted after she confessed to using a dead patient’s debit card to buy snacks from the vending machine.

She had used the card just 17 minutes after the victim died.

Ayesha Basharat, 23, appeared in Birmingham court on charges of theft and fraud by false representation after she swiped the dead 83-year-old woman’s card at Heartlands Hospital in the city, news outlet ITV reported.

Doctors had recorded the woman’s time of death as 1:56 p.m. on Jan. 24, but just 17 minutes later purchases were made on her card at the vending machine, police said.

Basharat allegedly made six purchases using the contactless payment option and then made one more later in the evening.

She then tried again four days later, but by that time the card had already been canceled, the outlet reported.

Police arrested Basharat during her shift and found the card still in her possession, the outlet reported.

She initially claimed that she found the card on the floor and got it confused with her own, but authorities said the cards were different colors.

Basharat admitted to charges of theft and fraud by false representation at Birmingham Crown Court on June 9.

But she avoided jail after being sentenced to two five-month terms to run concurrently, both suspended for 18 months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust told The Sun Online: “She was suspended immediately this incident came to light and while the court case was pending.

“Now proceedings have concluded she faces disciplinary action within the next seven to 10 days. Her conviction will be taken into account.

“She faces losing her job for gross misconduct. In disciplinary hearings past or spent convictions would be taken into account on a case by case basis when deciding the outcome but she has an active conviction so it is highly unlikely she could remain in our employment.”