Paramedics jailed for stealing medication from dying patients

Ruth Lambert and Jessica Silvester targeted people receiving end-of-life care, police say

Lambert and Silvester referred to stolen drugs as ‘sweets’ in text messages (Kent Police)

Two paramedics have been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing medication from terminally ill patients.

Ruth Lambert, 33, and Jessica Silvester, 29, of the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb), preyed specifically on people receiving end-of-life care packages, Kent Police said in a statement.

The pair, who live together at Gap Road in Margate, accessed addresses of patients in the east Kent area through their work and posed as nurses to gain access to patients’ homes to steal morphine and other painkillers.

They worked in tandem, one researching the addresses and sending details to the other who would visit and steal the medication, police said, with victims being targeted in Thanet, Canterbury, Whitstable, Faversham and Herne Bay.

Lambert and Silvester were each jailed for five years at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday having been arrested in August at their home.

When officers attended the address in Margate, they found medication labelled with other people’s names, as well as nurses uniforms and NHS computer equipment, police said.

Evidence gathered from the pair’s mobile phones showed they had also conspired to steal from Secamb by taking medication from ambulances when on duty.

More than £14,000 worth of NHS medical equipment was returned to the health service following the enquiry.

A police spokesperson said: “Officers established at least 25 burglaries had been carried out by Lambert and Silvester over a period of nine months from December 2020.

“The investigation found they stole medication from three further properties by knocking on doors and convincing occupants they were collecting the medication for legitimate reasons after their loved ones had passed away.”

Analysis by officers showed Silvester’s login details were used 1,847 times over a three-month period to access NHS systems – and that the pair kept a diary, recording addresses they had visited and the medication which was available.

Many of those targeted were not aware of any wrongdoing until they were contacted by officers, police said.

The pair pleaded guilty to conspiring to burgle and conspiring to commit theft.

Detective sergeant Jay Robinson, from Kent Police, described the offences as “an astonishing abuse of position”.

“Many of their victims have since passed away and will never know that justice has been done,” he said. “Our investigation was carried out, knowing we had to represent those victims and do the very best for them.”

Dr Fionna Moore, medical director for Secamb, added that Lambert and Silvester’s behaviour was a “clear and targeted abuse of their position and does not reflect the commitment and integrity of our staff”.

“We are shocked and saddened at the lengths to which these former members of staff went to,” she told the BBC, before joining DS Robinson in offering her sympathies to the families of all those affected.