Nurse Used Fraudulent Sick Notes for Cuba Travel

A healthcare professional, asserting unfitness for duty due to illness, utilized fraudulent medical certificates while journeying to Cuba to rendezvous with her partner. During 2019, Sarah Oakes informed management at Whiston Hospital in Merseyside that she was experiencing discomfort and needed an operation. She presented paperwork purportedly from a “Dr Blake,” who did not exist. Oakes, who documented her journeys on Facebook, confessed earlier this year to two charges of fraud through misrepresentation and received a 14-month custodial sentence, which was suspended for a period of two years. Following this, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) imposed a 12-month suspension on Oakes, a resident of Runcorn, thereby prohibiting her from employment in the healthcare sector. Oakes undertook two trips to Cuba. Her initial visit was to meet her boyfriend, and the subsequent trip was for their marriage. Subsequently in 2019, Oakes employed a fraudulent reference to obtain employment at Warrington Hospital. Until her termination in 2021, the individual, a mother of four, reportedly took extended sick leaves and maintained irregular working hours. Overall, it was revealed that Oakes had defrauded hospitals of approximately £30,000. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the NMC initiated its own inquiry after her criminal convictions in May at Liverpool Crown Court. After a private hearing conducted on 2 and 3 October, the NMC stated that a three-person panel determined Oakes’ capacity to practice as a nurse was compromised. This suspension order signifies that Oakes will be barred from working in healthcare for a duration of 12 months.