A MIDWIFE who used her patients’ names to steal morphine to inject herself with has been spared jail.

Laura MacNeil, 24, was sentenced to a one year suspended prison sentence after she admitted stealing 27 doses of morphine from Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust (BHRUT).

The midwife used the names of her antenatal patients at Queen’s Hospital in Romford to make false entries in a drug register in order to steal the Class A drug.

Officers from the Met Police’s Controlled Drug Liaison Unit arrested MacNeil, of Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, on July 14 2016, after they found she had taken the drugs over three days in June.

She was charged on November 22, admitting everything at Barkingside Magistrates Court on December 8.

The 24-year-old also admitted having Co-Codamol and Diazepam at the same hearing.

PC Wendy McAllister, who led the investigation, said: “MacNeil abused her position of trust as a midwife to steal morphine for her own use.

"Although no patients went without their prescriptions, she set up false entries on the controlled drug register using the names of people on the ward she was treating.

"This case demonstrates how the Controlled Drug Liaison Unit will prosecute any medical professional guilty of stealing from their employer."

MacNeil will now be investigated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) who will decide on appropriate sanctions and whether she is fit to continue being a nurse.

BHRUT's chief nurse Kathryn Halford said: “We’d like to thank the Metropolitan Police for working with us as soon as this incident came to light, and in taking swift action to keep our patients and staff safe.

"I would like to reassure everyone that no harm was caused to patients.

“I encourage all our patients, members of the public and our staff to raise any concerns, including potential criminal activity. This enables us to take immediate action so we keep our patients and staff safe from harm.” 

She was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday (January 5) and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.