Sunil Parmer was a locum doctor in Maidstone Hospital A&E

by Julia Roberts

A casualty doctor said to be suffering from poor health and family pressures when he falsely claimed payment for hospital shifts he never worked has been spared jail.

Sunil Parmer was working as a locum in the accident and emergency department at Maidstone Hospital when he submitted timesheets for six 12-hour weekend shifts totalling more than £6,000.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the discrepancies were investigated by hospital bosses after they discovered a departmental overspend in May last year.

Three months earlier, 30-year-old Parmer had met with the general manager and his A&E consultant after they became concerned he was becoming "run down" due to the length of his shifts.

Mary Jacobson, prosecuting, told the court it was decided that Parmer's hours would be reduced and he would no longer have to work weekends unless specifically asked to do so.

However, between March and June last year he submitted the false claims and was overpaid by £6,441.

He later told investigators he had not tried to cheat anyone and the claims were "an oversight".

The court was told that whether Parmer included the extra shifts on his timesheets before or after they were authorised for payment was "a matter of dispute".

Parmer was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court

Parmer, from Hounslow, Middlesex, admitted six charges of fraud by false representation.

Imposing a two-month prison term - suspended for two years - Recorder Marie-Claire Bleasdale said he had taken advantage of his position to carry out the scam.

"In my view your fraud was assisted by the fact you expected that in your trusted role as a doctor you did not expect to be challenged by more junior members of staff," she said.

However, Recorder Bleasdale said she accepted that Parmer had not acted fraudulently from the outset and had shown genuine remorse.

"You were going through a personal period of some trouble. You had been unwell and were having a difficult time at home. But that does not in any way explain or condone your behaviour," she added.

Parmer, who is currently working as a locum senior registrar at Watford General Hospital, was also ordered to carry out 100 hours' unpaid work and pay court costs of £650.

The court heard he has since repaid all the money. He now faces a hearing before the General Medical Council.