Lies could see nurse struck-off

A ward manager pretended she was a patient to get free prescriptions, a hearing was told yesterday.

Sonya Davenport (39) misled doctors into signing prescriptions for her so she could obtain extra inhaler medication for her asthma.

Davenport, of Fold Green, Chadderton, also altered timesheets to claim overtime for shifts she had not worked and once said she had started work an hour earlier than she actually had, it is claimed.

On at least one occasion she forged her line manager’s signature on a timesheet, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

The alleged incidents happened when Davenport was managing the F1 gynaecological ward at the Royal Oldham Hospital in 2006.

She now faces eight charges of misconduct relating to dishonesty and could be struck off the nursing register if found guilty.

Clare Strickland, for the NMC, said the incidents were brought to management’s attention in July, 2006.

Healthcare assistant Shabner Kouser answered a phone call from the hospital pharmacy asking for Davenport’s patient number for her prescription.

When Miss Kouser questioned Davenport about it, she asked her to lie and say she was a patient, which she did.

The conversation was overheard by a junior sister on the ward who later reported the matter.

The issue was then referred to a counter-fraud specialist who found Davenport had submitted prescriptions purporting to be a patient on three occasions between January and May, 2006.

It is also claimed she altered timesheets with tippex after getting them signed by her manager on two occasions between February and March, 2006.

At a disciplinary hearing Davenport said she needed the medication after her asthma flared up due to stress at home and at work.

In respect of the timesheets, Davenport claims the inaccuracies are mistakes on her part but said they were not deliberate.

She admits three counts of obtaining prescriptions which stated she was a patient at the hospital when she was not and instructing a staff member to tell the pharmacy she was a patient.

But she denies she submitted seven inaccurate and invalid claims for payment to the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, who run the hospital.

She further denies her actions were dishonest and that her fitness to practise as a nurse is impaired.

The hearing continues.