Overview

• Dean Armitage, 33, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for fraudulently claiming £72,632.71 for unworked shifts between 2019 and 2021.
• As a team leader at a Greater Manchester mental health unit, Armitage exploited his access to the NHS shift booking system to self-authorize overtime payments.
• Biometric data revealed no evidence of Armitage entering the hospital for the 185 shifts he falsely claimed, leading to his dismissal and gross misconduct charges.
• The Nursing and Midwifery Council suspended Armitage's registration, barring him from working as a nurse or taking NHS bank shifts in the future.
• The case highlights systemic vulnerabilities in NHS shift management during the pandemic and the effectiveness of counter-fraud measures in detecting abuse.