A HOSPITAL worker from Smethwick has been jailed for stealing bank cards from a dying patient and going on a spending spree while he lay terminally ill in hospital.
Rebecca Ellis, aged 49, stole two debit cards from cancer patient Fred Bromley when he was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on 20 February 2020.
Hours later she used one of the contactless cards to buy biscuits at an on-site WHSmith shop within the QE.
After the “test purchase” succeeded, she went on to use them at various stores plus ordered £126 worth of clothes from Dorothy Perkins online.
She denied theft and fraud but was found guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court. She has been jailed for nine months.
Investigating officer DC Mark Bates from Force CID said: “This is a despicable and cowardly act bought about by greed and the total disregard for the suffering of Mr Bromley in his final weeks.
“Mr Bromley, on finding out he was a victim of fraud, was upset and disheartened as he trusted the staff at the QE Hospital.
“Mr Bromley died not long after the offence. His daughter Anna is quite rightly disgusted by the actions of Ms Ellis and welcomes the prosecution.”
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