GP Practice Manager convicted for £324,000 fraud

Following an investigation by NHS Counter Fraud Service (NHS CFS) Wales, former GP practice manager Clare Boland was sentenced to 3 years in prison at Swansea Crown Court.

At an earlier hearing, Boland had admitted to taking £324,000 from her employer and pleaded guilty to one offence of Fraud by Abuse of Position.

Boland was employed at the Fairfield GP Surgery in Port Talbot from 2009. In her role she had sole responsibility for the day-to-day financial operations of the practice including payroll and paying locums and suppliers.

At the time of her suspension in 2022 her salary was approximately £45,000 per annum. The fraud was discovered when some financial documents were found in the surgery which showed that a recent payment had been made to a locum doctor who had not worked at the surgery for a number of years.

One of the senior partners at the practice referred the matter to South Wales Police in March 2022 who passed it to NHS Counter Fraud Wales for investigation. As part of the investigation, a NHS CFS Wales Financial Investigator conducted analysis of Boland’s bank account and determined that the stolen money had been transferred into her bank account and spent.

Judge Catherine Richards said when sentencing:

“The impact of this sort of fraud is varied – emotional, practical and financial.”

Cheryl Hill, Deputy Operational Fraud Manager, at NHS CFS Wales said:

“The impact of Boland’s fraudulent actions are far reaching and have had significant impact on her former employer. Boland abused her position and the trust of her employers and colleagues for her own personal greed.“

“NHS CFS Wales will now use their powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to recover the money Boland stole and return it to the victims.”