Nursing assistant robbed OAP horror crash victim in Scots hospital

Lucy Cruikshank stole the cash from 85-year-old patient Isabel Andrew when she was brought into A&E with serious injuries.

A nursing assistant rifled through the belongings of an elderly car crash victim when she was admitted to hospital and stole £150 from her.

Health care assistant Lucy Cruikshank stole the cash from 85-year-old patient Isabel Andrew when she was brought into Accident and Emergency with serious injuries. Cruikshank was working the New Year shift at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee when she was caught red-handed robbing the elderly woman.

Cruikshank, 28, from Dundee, admitted stealing the money from the pensioner while she was in Ninewells Hospital on 31 December last year. She was ordered to pay back the money to her victim and Sheriff Mark Thorley imposed an eight-month restriction of liberty order from 9pm to 7am each day.

He told Dundee Sheriff Court: "The difficulty is that the charge involves her being in a position of trust. I appreciate the impulsive nature of it and that there was full recovery. "It was seen to happen. It is just the location of it and how it happened that means this is a direct alternative to a custodial sentence."

The court heard how Ms Andrew had to be airlifted to the hospital's casualty department after being involved in a road crash on the A9 on Hogmanay. It was part of Cruikshank's duties to record an inventory of the pensioner's belongings, but instead of securing the cash in a hospital safe she pocketed it.

Fiscal depute Sarah High told the court: "The accused was working at the locus when the complainer was involved in a road traffic collision and was brought in. The accused was to carry out an inventory of her belongings, and while she was doing that, £150 cash was taken from her purse. Other members of staff observed her going through her belongings and it was reported to police."

The court heard that Cruikshank was seen putting a bundle of notes in her pocket. The court heard how one nurse intervened and asked Cruickshank if she "needed to corroborate the patient's belongings" and she agreed to do this.

The nurse counted £50 in the Ms Andrew's purse, but she and her colleague remained uneasy about what they had seen and contacted hospital management before the police were informed.

Officers traced Cruickshank at the hospital at around 6.30pm and the cash was quickly discovered. Officers and a member of staff carried out a search of the female locker room at around 8pm. A hospital tunic belonging to the accused was seized. Within that, they recovered a blue glove with £150 stuffed into it. When presented with this, the accused broke down in tears.

Cruickshank, from Dundee, had worked in the emergency department at Ninewells Hospital for two years before the theft she admitted. She resigned from her job. Solicitor Kevin Hampton, defending, said: "She doesn't need me to tell her that this is a monumental breach of trust that she has committed.

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"There's really no explanation for it. She worked in that role for six years and was in the A&E department for two years. On that day in question she had been dealing with a fairly traumatic road traffic collision and had been assisting people involved in that. It was not the one involving the complainer.

"She describes the offence as an impulsive act. There's no financial difficulty. Her intention was to try and replace the money but her colleagues became suspicious. It's a baffling case."

Mr Hampton said Cruickshank was remorseful and understood prison was an option due to the gravity of the offence. The nurses who reported the incident were praised from the bench for their diligence and their courage in coming forward to report what they had witnessed.

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