Two former paramedics who posed as nurses to steal morphine and painkillers from terminally ailing sufferers have been jailed for 5 years every.
Ruth Lambert and Jessica Silvester, who’re engaged, preyed on sufferers throughout Kent receiving end-of-life care throughout lockdown, posing as nurses to achieve entry to their properties to steal the treatment.
Lambert, 33, and Silvester, 29, had entry to affected person data on the NHS laptop system by way of their work as paramedics with the South East Coast Ambulance Service.
The couple, from Margate, would commerce WhatsApp messages figuring out victims after which go to and steal from victims in Thanet, Canterbury, Whitstable, Faversham and Herne Bay in Kent.
A probe discovered that they’d carried out as much as 29 burglaries, with Silvester looking out the NHS databases for doable targets and Lambert raiding the properties.
The stolen medication had initially been prescribed to among the focused sufferers to make their last days as comfy as doable.
Lambert and Silvester pleaded responsible to conspiring to burgle and conspiring to commit theft – having additionally stolen a £14,000 ultrasound machine from the NHS – and had been every sentenced yesterday at Canterbury Crown Courtroom to 5 years in jail.
Ruth Lambert (proper) and Jessica Silvester (left), who’re engaged, preyed on sufferers receiving end-of-life care throughout lockdown, posing as nurses to achieve entry to their properties to steal the treatment
A probe discovered that they’d carried out as much as 29 burglaries, with Silvester (left) looking out the NHS databases for doable targets and Lambert (proper) raiding the properties
Their offending got here to gentle final yr when Kent Police started to obtain various related studies of distraction burglaries, and the pair had been arrested on August 4 at their residence in Margate in relation to a housebreaking within the city two days earlier.
Upon their arrest, officers searched their residence and located treatment bearing the names of different folks in addition to nurses’ uniforms and NHS laptop gear.
By analysing the defendants’ cell phones, officers from the Chief Constable’s Crime Squad confirmed the 2 thieves had additionally conspired to steal from the ambulance service by stealing treatment from ambulances when on obligation and from NHS reserves.
Textual content messages between the 2 referred to the medication as ‘sweets’.
An examination of the calls system throughout a interval of simply over three months of the overall time they had been offending, confirmed Silvester’s login particulars had been used 1,847 instances to entry the NHS laptop system and evaluation calls.
The 2 ladies additionally stored a diary, logging addresses visited, the treatment accessible and any notes of curiosity, resembling in the event that they had been refused entry to a property.
The data accessed and the diary allowed officers to cross-reference info with a view to establish extra offences carried out by Lambert and Silvester.
Most of the victims weren’t conscious of any wrongdoing till the police arrived and made enquiries, piecing collectively the offences with the help of subsequent of kin and victims.
Lambert, 33, and Silvester, 29, had entry to affected person data on the NHS laptop system by way of their work as paramedics with the South East Coast Ambulance Service
CCTV and cell phone cell knowledge additionally confirmed the offenders had been on the scenes of most of the burglaries reported to police.
Officers established a minimum of 25 burglaries had been carried out by Lambert and Silvester over a interval of 9 months from December 2020.
The investigation discovered they stole treatment from three additional properties by knocking on doorways and convincing occupants they had been gathering the treatment for legit causes after their family members had handed away.
In addition they carried out a number of thefts from the ambulance service between 2018 and 2021.
Throughout their enquiries, police had been in a position to return medical gear to the NHS, valued at over £14,000.
Detective Sergeant Jay Robinson from Kent Police’s Chief Constable’s Crime Squad mentioned: ‘When studies got here in concerning suspicious people visiting properties searching for treatment, additional work was carried out to evaluation earlier housebreaking studies to Kent Police to see in the event that they had been linked. This led to the size of Lambert and Silvester’s offending turning into clear.
‘These offences had been an astonishing abuse of place. These two thieves, whose jobs had been to take care of these in want, had been plotting and stealing essential treatment from terminally ailing sufferers. Lots of their victims have since handed away and can by no means know that justice has been finished. Our investigation was carried out, figuring out we needed to signify these victims and do the perfect for them.
‘My ideas are with the households of all those that had been focused by these thieves. We thank them for his or her assist throughout what should have been an already troublesome and unhappy time for them.’
Dr Fionna Moore, Medical Director for South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Basis Belief, mentioned final evening (TUES): ‘We’re shocked and saddened on the lengths to which these former members of employees went to, to commit their crimes and our ideas are with all these affected.
‘Their behaviour was a transparent and focused abuse of their place and doesn’t replicate the dedication and integrity of our employees. As quickly as we grew to become conscious of the allegations, we took swift motion to droop after which dismiss each people, working intently with Kent Police.’