Nurse who stole £100k from patients is struck off

An NHS nurse who stole more than £100,000 from three elderly and vulnerable hospital patients has been struck off.

Kelvin Ramasta, who worked at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, was jailed at Peterborough Crown Court for four years and six months in April 2024 after admitting three counts of theft.

Ramasta, who said he was a "good nurse" but "blinded by the money", has since been struck off the nursing register by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

The council's Fitness to Practise Committee panel heard he was suspended by the hospital trust in April 2022 and dismissed in January 2023.

Ramasta admitted stealing from three elderly and vulnerable patients who were under his care - £102,000 from "Person A", £203.29 from "Person B" and £1,000 from "Person C".

Ramasta's bank referred a case to the police due to suspicious activity, after £101,000 was transferred into his account between 9 November 2021 and 22 April 2022, in increments of £1,000.

They were made from a bank account linked to Person A, who had dementia.

In April 2022, Person C's husband received a call from their bank concerning suspicious activity.

When family visited the hospital they found money and the patient's bank card were missing.

Days later, Person C's husband received notification their bank received a cheque for £1,000 to be removed from their account, payable to Ramasta.

The panel noted remarks from the judge on sentencing, who said Ramasta stole "all you could" and the money was used to "subsidise your life, gambling, luxury items for food and travel".

In a regulatory concerns response form in June 2024, Ramasta admitted to the convictions but said he had only admitted the charges to get a lesser sentence.

In a case management form in October last year, he said: "I've made [a] mistake but I know I'm a good nurse and have the skills of an excellent nurse.

"I help a lot of patients by providing quality care during Covid and post-Covid times.

"I was just blinded by the money and I'm sorry.

"I genuinely feel sorry for all the family I've mistaken with."

The panel said there was "a high risk of repetition as Mr Ramasta stole from three different patients on numerous different occasions in a pre-meditated and sophisticated manner".

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