Manager stole £5,000 from patients at Hampshire care home

THE manageress of a Hampshire care home wept as she was spared an immediate prison sentence for stealing about £5,000 from patients.

Jillian Haughey, 54, abused her position of trust at Ashfield House in New Milton which catered for residents with learning difficulties and were reliant on staff to look after their activities and needs.

Prosecutor Peter Asteris said Haughey was regarded as being very good with residents but her area manager considered her poor at record keeping.

“But in mid to late July that poor record keeping began to take more sinister overtones.”

He told Southampton Crown Court how she took money on numerous occasions from the bank accounts of three residents.

When an audit was requested, she came up with a variety of excuses why it could not be done, which included being sick and having to dash off because her horse was about to be put down.

“Finally when the audit was done, they found a number of issues giving rise for concern,”

he said. “She had simply taken the money without any justification or excuse.”

Haughey, of Silver Street, Sway, admitted three charges of fraud by abusing her position in which she expected to safeguard and not act against the victims’ financial interests by making a series of unauthorised withdrawals from their accounts.

“What you did was utterly despicable,” said Judge Patrick Hooton, giving her a 12-month suspended sentence coupled with a 240-hour community work order. “You stole money from those dependent on you to look after them and spent it because you were short of money.”

He said she ought to receive an immediate prison sentence but because she had admitted the offences, her work record and previous good character, he went “against my better judgement” suspending it.

Anthony Metzer, defending, said Haughey had worked in the care sector for 27 years with an impeccable record but had got into financial difficulties over her horse, rent and repayment loan over a Jeep. “She has seen the seriousness of what she has done and is remorseful.”

The court heard Haughey’s employers had reimbursed her victims.