'TORE OUR FAMILY APART'
Cancer nurse who told docs she was wealthy patient’s DAUGHTER in sick bid to steal £100k inheritance is struck off
She also received a car and a staggering amount of cash in the inheritance bundle
A CANCER nurse who pretended to be a wealthy patient's daughter in a sick bid to steal £100,000 of his inheritance has been struck off.
Anita George befriended Ian Percival, a well-off businessman in his 70s, after meeting him one day while he was walking near his home.
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This brief interaction led to a shocking chain of events that culminated in allegations of financial grooming and neglect, and the NHS nurse being struck off the nurse registry.
Ian, who worked as an investor in property and an insurance broker, had seen the nurse in tears on the promenade in Swansea while he was with his dog Snowy, reports .
Part of Ian's work involved renting homes to NHS staff locally, and just three days after meeting the seemingly trustworthy nurse, he invited her into one of his properties to help look after wife Margaret.
Ian and Margaret were married for more than 50 years and were well-known and well-liked in the Swansea area.
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Margaret, who had mobility problems, would be assisted by Anita in the private arrangement.
Ian's children have spoken publicly for the first time about the saga, from their home in Brisbane, Australia, with son Richard saying he felt Anita was dubious from the start.
As time progressed, the couple's children became increasingly concerned about Anita's relationship with their parents.
After Ian was diagnosed with cancer, the nurse also began caring for him.
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Richard said: "She took over our parents' lives - she was constantly with them."
The couple's son described how Anita began overhauling the pair's life and also began neglecting Margaret.
While daughter Helen initially trusted Anita's professional credentials, she began to become suspicious in the months before Ian's death in December 2016.
She claims Anita was refusing to take care of Margaret and was focusing all her attention on Ian instead.
Following their father's death, Helen and Richard became aware of the vast extent of Anita's involvement with Ian, feeling that she struck up an inappropriate personal relationship with their dad and manipulated him for financial gain.
While investigating themselves, they moved mum Margaret to live with them in Australia - she later died there in 2018.
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Richard explained that he found some evidence on their dad's computer about Anita and began to look further into it.
They found that Ian had given the nurse almost £15,000 in cash and shares, a car, and had left her a property worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Helen recalled how disgusted she felt at discovering her dad was "financially groomed" by Anita and that this realisation only came after the will was read.
While Anita said she was simply receiving gifts from a friend, it was revealed she had listed herself as his next of kin, and even as his daughter and adoptive daughter on Ian's medical records.
She had done all of this without Ian's wife or children knowing.
Helen added she felt "devastated" by the fact that Anita was managing Ian's hospital appointments, taking his bloods at home, and accessing medical equipment while pretending to be his daughter.
Ian's family have taken eight years to achieve any form of justice for what happened to them.
Anita was found to have breached professional standards and abused her position of trust as a registered nurse to gain inheritance from a patient, in a hearing into the allegations by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in December last year.
It ruled that she had motivated by the pursuit of financial gain and unleashed its toughest sanction on Anita - having her struck off the nursing register.
The NMC's outlines how Ian and Margaret's isolation and poor health, as well as their geographical separation from their children, made them particularly vulnerable.
Anita's legal team argued during the hearing that these events had happened outside of her formal employment as a nurse and that it was unlikely to happen again as she is now married.
'HORRIBLE' THING TO HAPPEN TO A 'GENUINE HARD-WORKING GUY'
Swansea Bay University Health Board, which runs the hospital, said it is now carrying out a review into any possible failures.
A spokesperson for the board told The Sun: "In light of the findings of the NMC’s hearing we are appalled, and want to state clearly to the family that we’re very sorry about what happened.
“We will be reviewing this case to see if there are any learnings that need to be taken into account.
“It is important, however, to clarify that the inappropriate financial relationships did not relate to care provided within an NHS context."
They added: "While we cannot comment in detail on this specific case - as there remains patient confidentiality issues - we can say that our general approach to identifying next of kin focuses on following the wishes, wherever possible, of the patient.
“We are not able to comment on staff disciplinary matters.”
South Wales Police carried out an investigation at the time but no charges were brought forward - but it confirmed it would re-open the case if new lines of inquiry were found.
Cases of financial exploitation of the elderly have been on the rise in recent years, with charity Hourglass saying it has seen a 182% rise in calls since 2017.
Ian's children are hopefully that police will re-open the case but also want tougher rules on how carers can become involved with patients.
At present, nurses have to adhere to the NMC's professional standards, which includes acting with "honesty and integrity" in any financial dealings.
Richard expressed relief that Anita was struck off following the NMC's damning report, saying: "You can't have someone doing what she did - using her position as a nurse...to gain their trust."
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Both Richard and Helen feel Anita tarnished the end of their father's life for them, with the former saying neither of his parents deserved to suffer this type of abuse.
He said: "Dad was a genuine hard-working guy who loved his family - It's just horrible."
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