Former NHS mental health nurse jailed for defrauding NHS

Armitage was convicted of Fraud by Abuse of Position after falsely claiming that he had worked 185 shifts for which he received £72,632.72 in wages and holiday pay. He entered a guilty plea at a hearing at Bradford Crown Court back in November 2024.

An investigation led by the NHS Trust’s Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) and supported by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) found that Armitage abused his position as a nurse and ward manager at a mental health unit in Manchester.

As a manager, Armitage had access to the shift booking system, which allowed him to create, assign and authorise additional shifts. Starting in April 2020, Armitage began creating backdated overtime shifts in his own name. These were entered into the NHS Staff Bank, which allows NHS employees to pick up additional shifts on top of their contracted hours. Typically, this is to cover for NHS staff shortages.

Armitage mainly claimed for night shifts which are paid at a higher rate and, since they were created after the event, they did not appear on any rota, thus raising no suspicion. This process continued until October 2021.

In November 2021, irregularities were found in respect of additional shifts claimed for payment by Armitage. This led to him being suspended from duty and a criminal investigation was opened.

Biometric data

The shifts that Armitage claimed for were in a medium secure unit, which requires the use of biometric data for a member of staff to gain access. The LCFS was able to cross-reference a report of shifts Armitage claimed against his entry and exit data.

It was found that Armitage was not even on the hospital site for any of the shifts that he’d been paid for by the NHS. He was subsequently dismissed by the NHS Trust for gross misconduct.

His former employers, the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, also referred Armitage to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The NMC has suspended him and he is not currently permitted or authorised to work as a nurse.

Serious nature 

Kevin Howells, anti-fraud manager for the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We welcome the outcome and sentencing in this case given the very serious nature of fraud involved and the impact on NHS funds. In addition to being permanently barred from working bank shifts for the trust again, Dean Armitage has been reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the independent regulator of nurses, midwives and nursing associates.”

Howells continued: “In light of this case, we have sought assurance from the agency from which Armitage was hired that it has taken immediate action to tighten its procedures to protect the NHS from fraud of this nature in the future. The Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to the elimination of any type of fraud and will always rigorously investigate anything of this nature.”

Ben Harrison, head of operations at the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, observed: “We are pleased with the outcome of this investigation. I want to thank the NHS Trust, alongside both the LCFS and NHSCFA colleagues for the action they took in this case. Armitage clearly exploited his position of trust to divert NHS funding from patient care.”

Harrison concluded: “This case highlights the importance and effectiveness of the local counter fraud efforts across the NHS in uncovering and taking action against individuals who commit this kind of fraud.”