A police officer says he was left “angry” and feeling sick after prosecutors dropped the case against a nurse who allegedly stole and used his dying father’s bank card.
Roy Clarke, 89, from Hornchurch, was admitted to Queen’s Hospital in February 2022.
While he was in there, somebody started using his bank card to make online purchases, including £150 on Avon cosmetics.
“I realised there must have been an address that it was directed to,” said Roy’s son Graham, a former UK policeman who now works for the police in Canada.
“I felt so angry that someone would take advantage of a dying man.”
He reported it to police, who found evidence linking a nurse to the transactions. She was sacked by the hospital trust after an internal investigation.
But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has refused to pursue a criminal prosecution.
“When I received the email telling me the Crown are not pursuing the matter I felt so sick, deflated and ashamed that I could not protect my dad’s finances,” said Graham.
“I then felt angry again at the person who did this to my dad. Who knows how many other elderly, dying people they have stolen from."
Graham said he would be writing to the CPS to seek answers.
“My dad passed away just one week after the final transaction, but I too was a victim as I was a third-party account holder,” he said.
He had been added to Roy’s bank account months earlier after he fell victim to another scammer, which left him “shaken”.
At the hospital in spring 2022, said Graham, “other patients’ families were talking of money missing from their loved ones’ drawers".
Then Graham spotted via online banking that Roy’s card had been used to make three purchases.
“I was so furious and frustrated that someone would do this,” he said. “At first I thought it would have been another visitor, until police said that it was staff and the card was now gone.
“I am furious that a member of staff would take my dad’s bank card and spend his money while he was on his death bed.
“I am unable to speak to the investigation, but I believe the Crown are taking the easy way out as my dad is no longer around to deal with this.”
The Met Police confirmed it had received a theft complaint on March 8, 2022.
“An investigation was carried out, including contacting the relevant retailers and other digital forensics,” a force spokesperson said.
As a result, a woman was arrested in April 2022 and a file was passed to the CPS.
This paper has seen an email sent to Graham by the Met Police officer who investigated the case, in which he said the CPS decision was “frustrating given the amount of time put into this”.
In the email, the officer revealed to Graham that the nurse had been sacked by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT).
“How is that justice when they could do the same thing to another dying patient – maybe your loved one?” asked Graham.
“As a former police officer in the UK and also currently here in Canada, I am appalled that the Crown let this go.”
BHRUT has issued an apology to Graham and his family.
“We do not tolerate theft from patients,” said chief nurse Kathryn Halford.
“As soon as we were made aware we carried out a thorough investigation which resulted in a member of staff being dismissed.
“This would have been hugely distressing for the family and I’d like to apologise to them again that this happened in our hospital.”
Questioned by this paper, the CPS said: “After a thorough review of this case, the decision was made that no further action should be taken because there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.
“It is not the function of the CPS to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for the criminal courts to consider.”
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