CREDIT: This story was first seen in Bristol Live
Patricia Mayo continued working as a practice manager until she was jailed, Bristol Live reports.
A GP surgery has launched an investigation after a woman who stole at least £50,000 from a practice in Bristol continued working for the NHS until she was jailed.
Patricia Mayo, 60, stole tens of thousands of pounds from the Hartwood Health Centre in Hartcliffe where she worked as practice manager.
Mayo left the surgery in 2016 and the new practice manager soon discovered she had syphoned cash into her own account via unauthorised payments and overtime she did not work.
She was sentenced to 12 months in prison on May 4 and Bristol Crown Court heard Mayo was still working as a practice manager up to the point she was jailed.
Bristol Live can reveal that an internal investigation into Mayo’s employment is underway at the surgery where she worked after the theft.
A spokesperson for Dedworth Medical Centre in Windsor and South Meadow Surgery in Eton, where Mayo worked after Hartcliffe, said: “An internal investigation is underway. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
Patricia Mayo was in charge of accounts at the Hartwood Health Centre in Hartcliffe, where she worked as practice manager between 2011 and 2016.
When she left the surgery, it was revealed Mayo had been paying herself thousands of pounds, despite her £40,000 salary.
Mayo, now of Jerrymoor Hill in Wokingham, was still employed as a practice manager at the time of her sentencing.
A doctor who is a senior partner at the surgery said Mayo’s crimes had come at a time of financial cuts to the NHS, which she had campaigned against, and had threatened the practice with “potential insolvency.”
Mayo pleaded guilty to the theft and said she had taken around £56,000 while the Crown Prosecution Service believes the figure to be close to £63,000.
The court heard Mayo started on a salary of £40,000 per year.
Mayo, who brought a suitcase with her to the courtroom, was jailed for 12 months for fraud by judge Julian Lambert.
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