Midwife supervisor jailed for theft and fraud

A midwife supervisor has been jailed for 15 months after falsifying time sheets and cheating the NHS out of more than £63,000.

Kim Ying Yap - who worked at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Slough and Ascot - was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Wednesday.

She had earlier admitted 16 charges of theft and fraud and agreed to a further 28 counts being taken into consideration.

Local counter-fraud specialist John Micklewright was carrying out an exercise for the trust comparing time sheets to ward rotas when discrepancies came to light. Thames Valley Police were informed and Yap was arrested on April 9 last year.

The subsequent investigation, supported by the NHS Counter-Fraud Service, showed that the frauds took place over four years while Yap was contracted to work 15 hours a week solely on parentcraft sessions held at Wexham Park and in the community.

Yap, of North Hyde Lane, Southall, Middlesex, was also ordered to pay £63,812  in compensation.

Nicole McLaughlin, South-east operational fraud manager for the NHS Counter-Fraud Service, said: "This prosecution sends a clear message that we do not tolerate fraud against the NHS, whether it is committed in the community or in our hospitals."