WA nurse charged for vaccine fraud

Western Australian Police have arrested and charged a 51-year-old Registered Nurse who allegedly pretended to administer COVID vaccine.

The nurse, employed to administer COVID-19 vaccines at a private medical centre in St James, allegedly obtained approval from her employer to administer vaccines to people known to her.

When a person known to the nurse attended the medical centre where she was working and arranged for their teenage child to be administered a COVID-19 vaccine, the woman allegedly inserted the needle into the teenager’s arm but failed to administer the vaccine. The nurse allegedly disposed of the syringe, with vaccine liquid still inside, and made a false entry on the medical records system indicating the teenager had received the dose of the vaccine. Further, it is alleged that the nurse recorded that another employee of the medical centre had administered the dose, and not her.

As per standard practice, a second medical practitioner, on this occasion a doctor, observed the process. The medical centre reported the matter to WA Police Force and an investigation was commenced. The 51-year-old Byford woman was arrested at her residence and charged with one count of ‘Gains Benefit by Fraud’. The investigation is ongoing.

In a statement, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) said they are “deeply concerned” to hear about the incident and are providing support to the GP and practice team concerned.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Daniel CHETRONI