By A Nigerian doctor based in the United Kingdom, Richard Akinrolabu, has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by Woolwich Crown Court for defrauding the National Health Service (NHS) of more than £268,000 by secretly working paid shifts while on sick leave.
According to a statement released on Monday by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA), Akinrolabu — formerly a trust grade specialist registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Princess Royal University Hospital under the King’s College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — pleaded guilty on 3 September 2025 to four counts of fraud by false representation.
Between October 2018 and December 2021, he repeatedly reported himself unfit for duty at King’s College Hospital (KCH) while simultaneously undertaking night and on-call shifts across three other NHS trusts.
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Despite receiving full sick pay or working reduced duties at KCH, he continued to accept paid shifts at: Princess Alexandra Hospital, East Kent Hospitals, University Foundation Trust Mid-South Essex, NHS Foundation Trust.
Unaware of his secondary employment, KCH was forced to hire locum doctors to cover the shifts he claimed he was too ill to perform.
The fraud came to light in November 2021 after the hospital received information that he had been working night shifts at Basildon Hospital.
An investigation later confirmed through timesheets and payroll records that he had neither sought nor obtained permission for outside work.
Ironically, many of the extra shifts were the same night and on-call duties he had insisted he was medically unfit to undertake.
When interviewed under caution in June 2022, Akinrolabu declined to comment. The NHSCFA’s investigation led to his eventual prosecution.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge David Miller condemned the deception, stating: “You lied to occupational health, your colleagues and your employer. The public doesn’t expect doctors to lie for personal gain.”
Ben Harrison, Head of Operations at the NHSCFA, described the case as “a clear and deliberate abuse of trust,” emphasising that the authority will continue to pursue anyone who attempts to exploit the NHS for personal benefit.
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