Bogus Healthcare Professionals

November 26, 2024

When Sarah Whitaker approached an introductory care agency to find a carer for her 89 year old father she expected they would refer a suitably qualified and professional carer. Instead, Sarah was 'horrified' to discover that an unqualified imposter had been in her fathers home for almost three weeks!

Unfortunately Sarah's story, reported by Sky News, is not as uncommon as one might expect. In January 2024, a man admitted impersonating a nurse and accessing resuscitation and children's areas at a hospital in Glasgow (BBC News).

SAFE has experience of dealing with a number of similar cases where an unqualified imposter had been found to be working in place of the qualified professional that was expected.

There can be a number of reasons why an imposter may report for duty:

to commit further offences of theft and/or fraud, or to cause physical harm including sexual offences.
because they are being controlled by an Organised Crime Group (OCG) or exploited by individuals as victims of modern slavery.
because they can't work in a healthcare setting using their own identity, perhaps due to previous criminal convictions, or because they have no right to work in the UK.

Whatever the reason, failing to identify and sanction these imposters and those that facilitate them, places patients, the people we hold most dearly, at risk of harm. At SAFE we are experienced at working with professional regulatory bodies and the Police to bring the perpetrators to justice.

SAFE has produced the following quick guide to highlight the problem of people impersonating medical professionals.

Our highly experienced team of professional investigators are able to help organisations ensure that they have robust checks in place to prevent and identify this type of crime.

Get in touch to discuss how we can help protect patients from imposters who claim to be healthcare professionals.

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