A 32-year-old man who lied and forged his way into high-level medical positions in the Northern Territory has been handed a prison sentence of four years.
Nicholas Crawford pleaded guilty to ten offences in the State’s Supreme Court on Thursday, including obtaining benefit by deception and false entry in a register, Nine News reports.
He also confessed to uttering, aggravated assault and supply of a schedule two drug; offences he committed throughout 2014 and 2015.
Crawford became employed by Darwin recruitment agency Health Care Australia in April 2014 after lying about his qualifications and work history on his resume.
Nicholas Crawford (pictured) lied and forged his way into high-level medical positions and was sentenced to four years jail on Thursday
He then unlawfully entered himself as a high-level agency nurse on a national database, which contains information on nurses available for shifts at short notice.
Royal Darwin Hospital contacted him on May 3 for an agency nurse shift in the Emergency Department from 3pm to 9.30pm.
During the shift he performed various nursing duties on several patients.
After providing more false documents, he continued to fill shifts and treat a number of patients from May 2 to June 29.
He pleaded guilty to obtaining benefit by deception, false entry in a register, uttering, aggravated assault and supply of a schedule two drug
Crawford administered a 34-year-old intensive care patient with 2.5mg of morphine intravenously, and 10mg of endone orally, on June 21.
He was told not to work at the hospital again after failing in his attempt to administer a five-year-old boy with severe disabilities an antibiotic intravenously.
Other staff noticed he was struggling and had to assist him complete the task.
The event left the boy’s mother traumatised, with her now refusing to put her son in the care of agency nurses.
‘I despise Nicholas Crawford. I don’t even know him but I despise him…His fraudulent and despicable actions will forever haunt me,’ she said in a victim statement.
The serial liar also deceived his way into a job a trainer job with Fox Education and Consultancy.
He traveled to remote communities from July 2014 to January 2015 for the position, to teach and mentor Indigenous staff.
Meanwhile, he committed offences in Queensland and Western Australia, before finally being caught out in May 2015.
He performed various nursing duties on several patients throughout 2014 and 2015 when he posed as an agency nurse
Acting Justice Dean Mildren accepted defense submissions that Crawford was motivated by a ‘confused and complicated desire for respect and recognition.’
The judge described the offences as ‘selfish, conscious fraud’ and handed down a reduced sentence of four years jail, backdated to August last year and suspended after 18 months.
Crawford is expected to be on probation in about four months.