A healthcare worker was spared a prison sentence after using the credit card of a deceased patient to buy snacks.

23-year-old Ayesha Basharat from the UK was a healthcare assistant who used the money of an 83-year-old woman just minutes after the patient died at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital.

According to the reports, Ayesha used the patient’s card to make six small purchases at a vending machine just 17 minutes after the elderly woman died. Later that day, she made another purchase before attempting to use the same card several days later only to realize that it had already been blocked.

After getting arrested for fraud and theft, the young healthcare worker initially insisted that she had found the card on the floor before mixing it up with her own cards and accidentally using it to make a series of purchases.

While she eventually pleaded guilty, Ayesha was sentenced to five months in jail suspended for 18 months, meaning that she avoided prison time entirely.

When approached at her home, the 23-year-old allegedly refused to apologize to the deceased patient’s family or admit that what she did was wrong.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I have nothing to say,” she said.

Following the incident, The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust launched a separate investigation and immediately suspended the worker.

“Ayesha Basharat was immediately suspended when this incident came to light and all steps were taken to support the patient’s family,” a spokesperson said.

“The trust has fully supported the police with their investigation and a result of Ms Basharat’s conviction, the trust will now proceed with our internal HR processes, with due consideration given to the criminal conviction that Ms Basharat has received.

“We would like to offer our sympathies to the patient’s family and sincerely apologize for their experience; this incident is disgraceful and clearly fell short of the high standards of integrity that we all expect of NHS employees.”

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