A nurse in the United Kingdom has been removed from the nursing register after a tribunal found that she exploited a vulnerable 99-year-old woman and obtained assets and money worth £770,000 (around ₹9.6 crore) from her over several years. The nurse, Rebecca Burwood, allegedly used the money for home improvements, a car, a campervan and other personal expenses, with allegations that some of the funds were also spent on cosmetic surgery, according to a report by The Independent.
Burwood, an adult nursing specialist who registered in 2002, was found to have manipulated the elderly woman, identified as Resident A, into becoming dependent on her before exploiting the trust she had placed in her. She was working as deputy manager at Bryn Yr Haul Care Home in Flintshire, Wales, when the misconduct came to light.
According to a tribunal of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Burwood began exploiting the woman in 2017, after a fall left her isolated and vulnerable. She allegedly persuaded Resident A to transfer ownership of her house, valued at £400,000 (around ₹5 crore), into her name before arranging for the elderly woman to move into the care home in 2018.
The tribunal heard that Burwood obtained around £370,000 (around ₹4.6 crore) from the elderly woman over five years, in addition to the value of her property, bringing the total amount involved to approximately £770,000, as per The Independent.
How the UK nurse allegedly used the elderly woman’s money
{{/usCountry}}The tribunal heard that Burwood obtained around £370,000 (around ₹4.6 crore) from the elderly woman over five years, in addition to the value of her property, bringing the total amount involved to approximately £770,000, as per The Independent.
How the UK nurse allegedly used the elderly woman’s money
{{/usCountry}}The tribunal heard that Burwood withdrew approximately £160,000 (around ₹2 crore) from cash machines and used funds from the elderly woman for various expenses, including improvements to her own home, utility bills and council tax.
She also allegedly persuaded the elderly woman to pay £20,000 (approximately ₹25 lakh) towards a car and £9,000 (around ₹11 lakh) for a campervan, claiming the vehicles would allow them to go on day trips together. Burwood further obtained money for an extension to her home, claiming the work would allow Resident A to live with her if another pandemic lockdown occurred. However, the tribunal noted that the extension had been paid for before the first lockdown was announced.
There were also allegations that Burwood used some of the money for cosmetic surgery.
The tribunal found that the financial exploitation left Resident A with sufficient funds to pay for only 23 months of care, after which the local council would have to begin funding her care.
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Bank raises alarm over large cash withdrawals
According to the outlet, the case came to light after the elderly woman’s bank referred the matter to North Wales Police in March 2023, following large cash withdrawals. The bank initially froze her account, but Burwood subsequently took the elderly woman to the bank in an attempt to have it unfrozen.
Bank staff reportedly heard Burwood threatening Resident A, saying she would not take her out if she could not access the woman’s money. The attempt to unfreeze the account was unsuccessful.
In April 2023, another nurse overheard Burwood telling the elderly woman, “I will give you the money back” and “sign here”, prompting concerns about possible financial abuse. The incident was reported and it was decided that Burwood should only be allowed to visit Resident A under supervision. However, Burwood claimed that she had visited the care home to help Resident A sign a condolence card for the family of a mutual friend.
During a safeguarding visit in May 2023, Resident A reportedly said she did not want to take action against Burwood because she believed the nurse had learned from her mistakes and valued their friendship. Police subsequently took no further action as the elderly woman did not wish to make a complaint.
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What did NMC say?
The case was then referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council in June 2023. The NMC has now decided that Ms Burwood should never practice as a nurse again for the "sustained, calculated" theft from the "vulnerable" resident.
In her defence, Burwood said that she regarded Resident A, who has since passed away, as her “nana” and suggested this was why she had crossed professional boundaries. The tribunal, however, concluded that she had engaged in a sustained and calculated course of conduct to take advantage of the elderly woman for personal and financial gain.
“The panel was satisfied that Ms Burwood took advantage of the trust that Resident A had placed in her,” the NMC said. It added that Burwood had exploited the woman’s vulnerability, loneliness and reliance on her for social contact, using manipulation and coercion to obtain money.
“Such behaviour falls seriously short of the standards expected of a nurse and amounts to serious misconduct. Balancing all of these factors and after taking into account all the evidence before it during this case, the panel determined that the appropriate and proportionate sanction is that of a striking-off order,” the panel said.