NHS: Junior doctor claimed £10k in sick pay - while moonlighting at another hospital

A junior doctor has been suspended after claiming almost £10,000 in sick pay from an NHS trust - while working at a different hospital.

Dr Tracy Landu-Landu told her superiors at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust that she was unable to work after falling ill. But at the same time, she was working night shifts for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, 150 miles away, while also collecting her sick pay.

Overall, Dr Landu-Landu, age 30, worked around 40 shifts between August and December 2020, collecting thousands of pounds for being off work at the same time. In a call with HR in that December she was asked if she had been working, and told them she was "not in a position" to talk about it.

In a hearing with the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service (MPTS), it was confirmed that Dr Landu-Landu eventually admitted to misconduct - admitting she had a conversation about it with her partner as soon as the investigation started. She has now been suspended from work for nine months.

In mitigation, the tribunal heard how Dr Landu-Landu has started to repay the money she claimed, and has repaid roughly £3,000 so far. In total, it's expected to take her at least another 18 months to fully repay her debt to the NHS.

In the report, the decision to suspend her for nine months came down to how the junior doctor was initially dishonest about working while claiming sick pay, and how she continued to profit from it.