Laura Elizabeth Barbara Davies appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Friday 8 November 2024, having pleaded guilty to all five counts at Swansea Magistrates Court on 22 August 2024.
Davies pleaded guilty to the following offences:
- three counts of making a false instrument, contrary to Sections 1 and 6 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1982
- two counts of theft, contrary to Sections 1(1) and 7 of the Theft Act 1968
In March 2023, issues were raised at Morrison Hospital in Cwmrhydyceirw, Swansea that drugs liable to misuse had gone missing from three wards. A subsequent investigation by the Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) led to Davies being interviewed in December 2023, but she denied all the allegations.
On 26 January 2024, the SBUHB and the Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) received a report that stolen prescriptions had been presented at several pharmacies in the Morriston area between 15 and 26 January 2024.
That same day, the LCFS undertook enquiries, secured evidence and obtained witness statements from all the identified pharmacies. This included clear CCTV footage and photographic evidence of Davies’s fraudulent actions.
On 8 February 2024, she was interviewed on suspicion of fraud by false representation, contrary to Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, and theft, contrary to Section 1 of the Theft Act 1968. It was during this interview that she formally admitted to the offences. She was formally charged with the five offences on 18 July 2024.
On 22 August 2024, Davies appeared before Swansea Magistrates Court, where she pleaded guilty to all five counts. On 8 November 2024, she was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, as well as a 12-month Mental Health Order, 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation. Cost orders were also awarded.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) are now conducting their own investigation and will be taking the findings of the court into consideration at the next regulatory hearing.
We would like to congratulate LCFS Neil Jones and all those working on the case for achieving this outcome and we thank them for continuing to tackle fraud within the NHS.