AN ASIAN-ORIGIN woman accused of lying about her nursing qualifications to get employed in a hospital had also stolen charity money, Cardiff Crown Court has heard.
Tanya Nasir, 45, who had earlier worked as the manager of a neonatal unit in Bridgend, has been accused of stealing £860 donated by a mother of a premature baby, BBC reports.
She denies nine counts of fraud and fraud by false representation and refutes the claim of taking charity money. She described the allegation as 'awful'.
Nasir began working in the Bridgend neonatal unit in September 2019 and was suspended in February 2020 following discrepancies in her CV.
She quit in November 2020 before a planned disciplinary hearing could begin.
Nasir, from Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, lied about her qualifications and experience to get the band seven post at the hospital unit, which cares for ill and premature babies.
The court has heard that Nasir claimed she had substantial experience working with premature babies and in adult intensive care.
She also said that she had served in the Army as a medic and served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Kosovo, Haiti, Bosnia, Malawi, and Zambia.
But the court was informed that defence ministry records found no evidence of her serving in the Army or the Reserves. She was an adult volunteer with the Army Cadets but never saw active service.
Nasir was arrested in 2021 and questioned by NHS counter-fraud investigators.
The court on Monday heard the testimony about a mother who ran a half-marathon and raised £860 for the neonatal unit, which she handed to Nasir in December 2019.
The investigators found the money had disappeared and informed Nasir about it.
She denied involvement and said the woman had met her at the hospital reception and handed over the sponsorship money in an envelope.
Nasir claims she did not open it, and the woman told her it contained over £800.
She said another nurse had also accepted donations. She said the charges were 'awful and disgusting'.
The court was told that when police officers searched her home in Brecon, they found several certificates.
When NHS counter-fraud investigators confronted her about its authenticity, she admitted: "Some of that doesn’t make any sense".
The trial continues.
