Scotland News
An NHS doctor and her husband have been jailed for 10 months each after selling stolen hospital PPE on eBay.
Dr Attiya Sheikh, 45, and 48-year-old Omer Sheikh made almost £8,000 from selling the personal protective equipment during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
She was working shifts at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride when NHS Scotland supplier Fannin spotted their products for sale on the auction website.
The pair admitted selling stolen gloves, face masks and wipes online at a time when the NHS was struggling to get hold of them.
Attiya Sheikh’s lawyer, John Scullion KC, said his client bitterly regretted her actions.
He said: “She accepts full responsibility. She acknowledges the significant breach of trust the offence represents.”
In July 2020, NHS Scotland counter fraud services began looking into the potential theft and resale of PPE.
The investigation identified four separate eBay accounts selling items such as gloves and wipes that were connected to the Sheiks.
A warrant was granted to search their home in Thornliebank near Glasgow.
On the day of the search in October 2020, Mr Sheikh was in the house.
He directed the counter fraud specialists to the attic within the top floor flat where 121 boxes of rubber gloves were discovered, as well as a box of face masks.
Detectives found that the couple had been selling them online for £15 to £20 a box.
Attiya Sheikh initially claimed she did not steal the PPE from the hospital but was given it by another person from the hospital in the car park.
However, inquiries failed to identify that person.
Gordon Young, head of NHS Scotland counter fraud services, described the crime as “outrageous”.
He told Scotland News: “To make a profit out of people’s fears and to make a profit out of a shortage of equipment that was really needed, it really is the opposite message to what the NHS stands for.”
He said that in monetary values, it was not the biggest fraud he had seen, but said it was an immoral one.
“This isn’t about the loss of the money,” he said.
“This is about someone in her position taking advantage of the health service and making a profit from it.”
The maximum sentence that had been open to the sheriff was 12 months in jail.
This was reduced to 10 months because of the couple’s early plea.
