A NEWPORT nurse has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for fraudulently claiming nearly £17,000 in payment for shifts she did not work.

Melanie Shurn, 43, of Oaktree Drive, Rogerstone, was sentenced for four counts of fraud by false representation and one count of fraud by abuse of position at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday.

Between January 2011 and June 2013, Shurn, who worked as a ward manager at the Royal Gwent Hospital, falsely claimed on 106 occasions that she had worked a shift or been on duty at the hospital when she had not.

The court also heard how she banked a £500 donation cheque from an elderly lady into her own bank account, spending more than half on her own personal use.

Over the two and a half year period the total claimed by mother-of-two Shurn was £16,847.07. Judge Stephen Hopkins QC sentenced her to 12 months for each of the counts, to be served concurrently.

Following an investigation by counter fraud specialists employed by Anuerin Bevan University Health Board, Shurn pleaded guilty to the offences on January 2 this year.

Prosecution barrister Anthony Vines told the court how on some occasions Shurn had been on a family holiday, staying in a luxury hotel, preparing for a birthday party and watching a Six Nations game in a Maindee pub – all while she claimed she had been working.

The senior nurse, who worked as a manager on 16-bed D5E ward and a surgical assessment unit, falsely filled in attendance and time bank sheets which she then asked junior staff to sign off.

The court also heard how Shurn, who earned just under £40,000, had told an elderly patient to make a donation payment to her own bank account – despite the health board having a charitable funds account.

87-year-old Claire Towler, who had stayed in the Royal Gwent for three weeks, phoned Shurn to enquire about making a donation and was told to make the £500 cheque payable to Shurn herself.

The prosecution said the only evidence of where the money went was on several pictures for the ward costing around £10.

In mitigation, defence Jeremy Jenkins said Shurn had been experiencing financial difficulties, taking out loans which her husband was unaware of, and wanted to spend more time with her family.

Mr Jenkins said: “She left school at 16 and worked up in her nursing career. The irony, of course, is between the ages of 23 and 38 she enjoyed a meteoric and successful rise in the profession. She now has fallen spectacularly from grace.

“Because she was working hard, she and her husband rarely had time together with the family to enjoy and then spent money to compromise for that. She is fully remorseful about what has happened.”

Judge Hopkins said: “You said you were in financial difficulties of which your husband was unaware.

"This is not a case where you and your husband where enjoying a luxurious lifestyle. It is just one of those situations that many people face of not being able to balance the books.

"But your offending strikes at the heart of public confidence over those who are in positions of trust like you.”

Judge Hopkins praised the “outstanding” investigation, which he called “difficult, detailed and painstaking”. He commended the staff members whose concerns led to the investigation being launched.

The investigation used a variety of jigsaw methods including records of cash withdrawals at locations around Newport when Shurn was meant to be on duty.

Car registration identification technology revealed Shurn had been on the M4 on her way to a family holiday in Porthcawl at the time she claimed payment for working a 12 hour shift.

Jeffrey Howells, employed by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board as a counter fraud specialist, said: “We are pleased to say that the losses incurred as a direct result of Mrs Shurn’s actions have been repaid by her in full. The donation of £500 that was made to the ward many months ago will now be allocated and used to benefit local patients as it was initially intended."