Birmingham care home boss who stole £98k from 97-year-old struck off

A care home manager who stole over £90,000 from a vulnerable resident and used it to gamble and pay off loans has been struck off.

Carleen Wilkins, of Overdale Road, Quinton, was jailed for 31 months after admitting theft at Birmingham Crown Court in October.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said, external her actions "breached fundamental tenets of the nursing profession".

A total of £98,730 was stolen from the 97-year-old resident over 40 months.

Wilkins, 40, qualified as a nurse in 2005 and became manager at the care home in Handsworth Wood in 2011.

The victim lived at the home from the summer of 2012 until February 2016, during which time Wilkins had full control of her accounts and withdrew hundreds of pounds each day.

She formed a close bond with the victim, who allowed Wilkins to control her finances due to a "mistrust of her immediate family and banks," the NMC report said.

Wilkins later admitted withdrawing the money but denied any wrongdoing, claiming the victim did not trust the bank and had spent the money on sherry.

Reaching the decision to strike Wilkins off, the NMC described her behaviour as "premeditated" and "systematic actions of fraud".

"Ms Wilkins' conduct and behaviour clearly fall far below the standards expected of a registered nurse," the report said, adding her actions "seriously undermine public confidence in the [nursing] profession".

"Her dishonesty was at the top end of the spectrum of dishonesty," the panel decided.