A nurse who stole £750,000 from a vulnerable 99-year-old and spent the money on cosmetic surgery and home improvements has been struck off.
Rebecca Louise Burwood exploited the resident who was living at Bryn Yr Haul Care Home in Mold, Flintshire, where she was deputy manager, for her own personal and financial gain.
She coerced the pensioner from 2017 to 2023 and also bought a car and campervan with the stolen money, as well as obtaining ownership of the woman's home.
A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing found Burwood's fitness to practise was impaired by reason of misconduct and imposed a striking-off order, meaning she will be removed from the nursing register.
The NMC hearing was told Burwood had a longstanding relationship with the woman before she moved into the home in 2018.
The panel heard the resident had no family members and was vulnerable after a fall. She was dependent on Burwood for friendship and social contact.
It found that, between 2017 and 2023, Burwood abused a position of trust and power, becoming the resident's lasting power of attorney, while also overseeing her care.
Burwood withdrew money from the woman's bank account, accepted ownership of her house and received thousand of pounds, which was used for her own benefit, including for building work and the purchase of vehicles.
Evidence presented showed more than £370,000 had left the resident's account over five years, with £160,000 of that from making large cash withdrawals at ATMs.
She also took the resident to the solicitors and got her to transfer the ownership of her £400,000 house.
The hearing was told there was "evidence to show Mrs Burwood used the funds for house improvements, utility bills and council tax", and there were "allegations that Mrs Burwood used some of the funds for personal cosmetic surgery".
She convinced the resident to pay £20,000 for a car and £9,000 for a campervan, which she said was purchased so the pair could go on days outs.
Burwood claimed the work on her home had been so the elderly woman could live with her in the event of another outbreak of Covid – however it had been paid for before any Covid lockdown in the UK.
Burwood told the tribunal the woman asked her to withdraw cash from her bank account and make donations to charities each week.
She claimed the donations, which were between £250 and £500 each time, would usually go towards charities that supported the blind or those with heart issues.
Burwood said she would either put the cash in charity pots while she was out and about, or hand donations directly to staff in local charity shops.
Her legal representative Victoria Rees said the resident had told her "she didn't want anything to be left by the time she died, as she didn't want the government to have her money", adding Burwood "didn't keep any records of the amount of money she withdrew or the amount of money she donated".
The pensioner's bank referred the matter to North Wales Police and the force launched an investigation.
The resident's bank account was frozen following concerns about spending, but Burwood attempted to have restrictions lifted and took the resident to a bank branch.
Bank staff claimed Burwood was "almost blackmailing" the woman, and told her to ask for the accounts to be unlocked.
The panel found Burwood told the woman she would not be able to take her on outings if she could not access her money.
The hearing was told the resident later told safeguarding staff she was shocked by the amount of money that had been spent from her account.
Another nurse also said they overheard Burwood tell the woman, "I will give you the money back" and "sign here".
She reported the conversation as evidence of financial abuse and it was decided Burwood would only make supervised visits to the woman.
Burwood claimed she had only been asking the pensioner to "sign a condolence card" and it was "not in relation to signing a document".
She claimed the resident's eyesight was "very poor" so she had held the card for her, showed her where she should sign and stopped her from signing over the printed words in the card.
Police investigated, but the woman did not want to take further action as she described Burwood as a friend, and believed she had "learned from her mistakes".
The panel concluded there had been a significant imbalance of power in the relationship.
In its ruling, the panel said Burwood had engaged in a "sustained, calculated course of conduct" and had manipulated the resident for personal gain.
It added Burwood had taken advantage of the trust the woman had placed in her and "weaponised" it against her.
The panel also found Burwood acted dishonestly by failing to tell her employer she held financial lasting power of attorney for a resident at the care home where she worked.
It said her actions amounted to serious misconduct, breached fundamental nursing standards and caused both financial and emotional harm.
In its decision, the committee said Burwood's actions were "deplorable" and she was "morally culpable", adding that public confidence in the profession would be undermined if a finding of impairment was not made.
The panel determined Burwood's conduct was "morally reprehensible, showed premeditated behaviour and indicated a deep-seated attitudinal problem".
It determined her behaviour fell far below the standards expected of a registered nurse.
Burwood said she "deeply regretted her actions" adding she "saw the resident as her nanna" as an explanation for why she crossed professional boundaries.
The victim has since died, but had only been left with enough money to pay for 23 months of care before the council would have had to step in.
James Bradford, operations director at Bryn Yr Haul nursing home, said the team there was "deeply saddened by this incident" and "extend our sincere apologies to everyone affected".
"The welfare and safeguarding of our residents remain our absolute priority," he said.
"We fully support the NMC's decision and, since these events, there have been changes in management, and our safeguarding policies and procedures have been reviewed to ensure the continued safety and wellbeing of everyone in our care."
Nursing and Midwifery Council
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