Illegal workers fired, deported and missing

11:26am Friday 16th May 2008

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Illegal immigrants have been working with patients in hospitals serving residents of Barnet borough, it has emerged.

Seven employees of Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust and three of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust were working in the country illegally, Government investigations last year found.

Most of them were healthcare assistants, performing basic tasks such as cleaning patients, serving food and changing bed sheets.

However, one was employed as a nurse and two as medical technical officers, who would use sophisticated scientific equipment to read and analyse symptoms and help doctors diagnose illnesses.

One of the medical technical officers, from Ghana, was deported by the Government following the investigation.

A spokeswoman for Barnet and Chase Farm, which manages Barnet Hospital in Wellhouse Lane, Barnet, said the trust had been working with the Home Office since January 2007, leading to several investigations and arrests. She said: "We undertake full pre-employment checks of staff including both their immigration and criminal conviction status.

"The trust has robust checks but no system is entirely secure from people with criminal intent."

Five of the seven workers at Barnet and Chase Farm arrived in the country legally but overstayed their visas. They have since been given leave to stay in the country by the Home Office.

The remaining two were sacked and deported.

Three workers at the Royal Free Hospital, in Hampstead, were fired following the investigation and one was deported. The other two are missing.

A spokeswoman for the trust said the three employees were the only ones found to be working illegally in the past five years, out of a workforce of nearly 5,000.

She added: "The trust has close links with the immigration services. It has recently updated its pre-employment checks policy and further training has been provided to staff on identifying false documents."

TOM JOHNSON