A NURSE who moonlighted at a hospital while off sick has been banned for a year.
Diane Barhoumi, 43, took 14 sick days from her job at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Glasgow and earned around £2000 working on a staff bank.
The nurse, from Hamilton, (pictured below) then boasted about foreign holidays on her Facebook page and posted pictures of herself in exotic locations.
At a conduct and competence hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council in Edinburgh on Friday, Barhoumi was suspended for 12 months for “very serious” dishonesty.
At a previous hearing, Barhoumi admitted working for NHS Lanarkshire Bankaid while on sick leave from the Golden Jubilee Hospital on 14 dates between April 2006 and April 2009.
Witness Fiona Lawrie, senior human resources advisor at the Golden Jubilee Hospital, examined the payroll and said it was obvious that Barhoumi had “worked for another employee while she was off sick”.
Barhoumi had “worked a lot of hours and had earned quite a lot of money” – in the region of £2000 – in the three years.
Barhoumi is believed to have taken a trip just months after her final dishonest shift with Bankaid.
But her parents insist she did not use the “moonlighting” cash to pay for the breaks, saying they funded the break and went with her.
They also pointed out that she was officially signed off sick from her job at the Golden Jubilee when the moonlighting happened.
Her Facebook page ( picture below) shows she was on a foreign holiday – believed to be Tunisia – in early September 2009, just five months after her last two dishonest shifts on April 19 and 26.
At Friday’s hearing, Barhoumi’s lawyer Catriona Watt said the nurse had shown signs of “remorse” for her actions, which resulted her in dismissal from the Golden Jubilee.
Ms Watt said her client told her: “I was very stupid. I should have got some help. It was never my intention to be dishonest. I offered to pay it back. I offered to resign.”
Barhoumi had been under “significant pressure” due to “health issues” and “financial difficulty.”
Panel chairwoman Pamela Ormerod said she hoped Barhoumi’s 12-month suspension would allow her to “demonstrate honesty and integrity”.
Barhoumi declined to comment on the verdict.
