Former GP practice manager Clare Boland has today been sentenced to three years at Swansea Crown Court for stealing £324,000 from the practice for her own personal gain.
Boland had been employed at the Fairfield GP Surgery in Port Talbot since 2009. In her role she had sole responsibility for the day-to-day financial operations of the practice including payroll, paying locums and suppliers.
At the time of her suspension in 2022 her salary was approximately £45,000 per annum. The fraud was discovered when some financial documents were found in the surgery which showed that a recent payment had been made to a locum doctor who had not worked at the surgery for a number of years.
One of the senior partners at the practice referred the matter to South Wales Police in March 2022 who passed it to NHS Counter Fraud Wales for investigation. As part of the investigation, an NHS CFS Wales Financial Investigator conducted analysis of Boland’s bank account and determined that the stolen money had been transferred into her bank account and spent.
Sentencing Boland to three years in prison, judge Catherine Richards said,
"The impact of this sort of fraud is varied - emotional, practical and financial."
Clare Boland pleaded guilty to one offence of Fraud by Abuse of Position in December.
Cheryl Hill, Deputy Operational Fraud Manager, at NHS CFS Wales said:
“The impact of Boland’s fraudulent actions are far reaching and have had significant impact on her former employer. Boland abused her position and the trust of her employers and colleagues for her own personal greed.
“NHS CFS Wales will now use their powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to recover the money Boland stole and return it to the victims.”