A senior NHS HR manager who lied on her CV has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay £9,600 in compensation.
Kerrie Devine of Lympstone, Devon, claimed she held a degree in Human Resource Management and said she was part way through a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development course when she applied for a promotion at Devon primary care trust (PCT) in 2007. She had been working as an HR manager at East Devon PCT since 2003.
Last week, Devine pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud by false representation at Exeter Crown Court. As well as the fine, she must also carry out 150 hours of unpaid community work. The conviction follows an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
Debbie Lloyd, South West operational fraud manager at the NHS Counter Fraud Service, said: “This positive outcome to our investigation is a reminder that fraud against the NHS can be committed by people in well paid, senior positions. The NHS Counter Fraud Service will impartially investigate all suspicions of fraud and wherever appropriate will pursue prosecutions.”
Devine was discovered to be lying about her qualifications when the East Devon trust merged to form Devon PCT in 2006. Staff had to submit expressions of interest for new posts, and Devine made false representations in March 2007 in six attempts to obtain employment.
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Devine was suspended before her expressions of interest were considered.
The case follows that of Lee Joseph Whitehead, a former director of planning and service modernisation at NHS Stoke on Trent, who was sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment for adding false psychology qualifications to his CV.
