Nurse Who Faked Cancer for Pension Scamed of £180,000 Struck Off

A neonatal nurse who shaved her head and used a cannula to fake a terminal cancer diagnosis to obtain over £180,000 in a pension scam has been struck off the professional register.

Amanda Reid, 47, deceived her family, including her children, and professionals into believing she was near death to secure £185,422.95 from the Scottish Pensions Authority for an "ill health retirement." Under the alias Amanda Muir, she was previously sentenced to two years in jail at Livingston Sheriff Court for fraudulently obtaining the funds.

On Thursday, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) removed Reid from its register, citing her "sustained, deliberate, premeditated" dishonesty. The NMC committee found that Reid altered her appearance, including shaving her head daily and taking weight loss medication, to mimic the effects of blood cancer. She also forged 16 medical letters to support her claims of serious illness.

Reid, who previously worked at Wishaw General Hospital in Lanarkshire, also claimed to have Munchausen's syndrome and fraudulently obtained controlled drugs from the National Health Service during the period of her offenses, which spanned over three years. She falsely told the Scottish Pensions Authority she was terminally ill, a claim that allowed her to receive payments between April 13, 2021, and August 31, 2024.

Sentencing remarks quoted by the panel noted that some of the defrauded money was spent on a trip to Dubai. The judge highlighted the substantial nature of the fraud, its lengthy duration, and the continuation of the deceit despite Reid's knowledge that she was not ill.

Reid asserted that Munchausen's syndrome motivated her actions and that financial gain was not the primary driver. However, a social worker's report presented to the panel disputed this, stating that Reid attributed her offending solely to a diagnosis of Fictitious/Munchausen's disorder. The report indicated that this information could not be independently verified and that Reid took no responsibility for her behavior, instead attempting to blame others for her actions.

The social work report further suggested that Reid only pleaded guilty on legal advice and made no attempt to admit her dishonesty. The report expressed concern that Reid failed to recognize her children and the pension authority as victims of her behavior, minimizing her actions as a "mistake" while trying to teach her children about making amends.

Reid did not present any submissions to the NMC proceedings, which were held online. In its written judgment, the panel, chaired by John Millar, stated there was "no evidence of insight or remorse." The panel characterized the dishonesty as sustained, deliberate, and premeditated, involving criminal fraud for financial gain, and noted a pattern of deception across multiple health services, agencies, and family members over three years.

While the panel found no evidence that Reid had put patients at risk of harm, her conviction was seen as clear evidence of repeated dishonest behavior. The panel concluded that such conduct raises significant concerns and indicates deep-seated attitudinal issues, potentially posing a risk to patients if repeated in a clinical setting.