An ophthalmic medical practitioner who pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud has been given a four-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs and complete 250 hours of unpaid work.
Dr Helen James was sentenced at Hove Crown Court last week after a trial which began on June 18 (News 22.06.12). James stood accused with dispensing optician Iqbal Nabi, with whom she worked with at the New Global Vision practice in Hastings.
NHS Protect said that sentencing of Nabi was deferred until November 20 after the psychiatrist who carried out a mental assessment on Nabi could not tell if he was a malingerer or genuinely mentally ill and requested a second opinion. The judge agreed to a second assessment.