Pair guilty of defrauding NHS

Owners of a domiciliary eye care company have been convicted of defrauding Northern Ireland's health service.

The country's Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) welcomed the conviction of Catherine Sweeney and Allyson Organ, who were both living in Scotland, at Belfast Crown Court last month.

They each received a custodial sentence, suspended for two years, on charges of dishonestly obtaining money transfers by deception and false accounting, a statement by the HSCB said.

It related to the provision of ophthalmic services to residents of nursing homes in Northern Ireland until 2005 by Cando Visiting Eyecare, reported to have amounted to £85,000. Serious crime orders were also imposed on each defendant, preventing them from working within this field for five years, the statement added.