A woman tricked her employers into believing she was a registered nurse to get a job at a troubled Aberdeenshire nursing home.
Sarah Goodbrand was employed as depute manager at the Havencourt home in Stonehaven between August 22 and October 31, 2014.
Her role involved the day-to-day running of the home, and taking the lead in all clinical duties.
However, it emerged shortly into her employment with Four Seasons that the 39-year-old had not been registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) since January 2011.
Yesterday Goodbrand went on trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court accused of deliberately deceiving her employer by falsely representing herself to be fully registered.
She denied the allegation and claimed that when she started her job at the home she believed her registration had been reinstated after she allowed it to lapse.
But Sheriff Margaret Hodge took about half an hour to find her guilty of the offence, saying she took advantage of the company’s “lax” recruitment strategies to get herself a job.
The court heard that Goodbrand, of Byron Avenue, Aberdeen, had reapplied to the NMC in May that year to become registered again, however at the time of her interview in July she had not been reinstated.
She told the court that she had informed her employer at the time that she had applied to renew her licence, and that they were aware she was not on the register when she was employed by them.
However, staff members who gave evidence during the trial claimed she had never informed them about her situation.
The court heard that while she was working at the care home, the manager was off sick and temporary managers were overseeing Havencourt remotely.
Regional manager Sylvia Nicol also said the home had been issued with improvement notices from the Care Inspectorate around the same time.
She said as a result their focus was on improving conditions for patients and Goodbrand’s status went unnoticed for months.
Sheriff Hodge said she did not believe Goodbrand was unaware she was unregistered at the time.
She fined her £275.
Last night, a spokesman for Four Seasons said: “There was no suggestion that the safety or care of residents was compromised. She had previously qualified as a nurse, but registration had lapsed.
“We regret the misrepresentation was not picked up immediately. This was because the home manager who appointed her went absent through illness, before completing the usual background checks, and then resigned.
“Her replacement noticed the discrepancy very quickly.”
