SA court told patients were at risk from fake nurse Jennifer Anne Reed, who had power but not training to give lethal medication

SHE had the power — but not the training — to administer potentially lethal medication, putting the lives of patients at risk. Why did this middle-aged woman impersonate a nurse for years?

FRAUDULENT nurse Jennifer Anne Reed put elderly patients’ lives at risk because she had the power, but not the training, to administer potentially lethal medication, a court has heard.

On Wednesday, the District Court was told Reed’s almost 50-year history of fraud culminated in a scam that netted her $341,000 in undeserved wages from six different nursing homes.

However, prosecutor Kelly Smith said the true gravity of Reed’s latest crime — committed under her real name, rather than one of her eight aliases — was the potential for loss of life.

“This is not only about the wages, nor the trust and confidence her patients put in her, nor the trust and confidence put in her by her employers,” she said.

“Reed was entrusted with a high level of authority and responsibility, including supervisory roles and the administration of potentially lethal drugs.

“There was the potential for grievous mistakes to be made, given her inadequate qualifications.”

Reed, 65, of Gawler West, pleaded guilty to seven counts of deception.

Between October 31, 2009 and September 5, 2014, she fraudulently earned wages from nursing homes in Elizabeth East, Gawler East, Gawler, Moonta, Willaston and Semaphore.

Reed used another person’s legitimate qualifications to pull off her deception and pose as a registered nurse.

Jennifer Anne Reed leaves the District Court following sentencing submissions. Picture: Greg Higgs.

Her case was jointly conducted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

On Wednesday, Ms Smith said Reed had “sullied the names” of her duped employers through her “planned, sophisticated and confident” deception.

“There was ample time for her to reflect on her conduct and abandon it but she did not ... had she not been investigated and discovered, she would have no doubt continued,” she said.

She said Reed’s history of fraud dated back to 1968, noting she was still repaying money stolen prior to her adopting the nurse’s identity.

“Reed has, over the years, compiled a catalogue of dishonesty offences and repeatedly received the mercy of the court in the form of suspended sentences,” she said.

“She appears to have learned nothing ... an immediate prison term is warranted.”

Jane Abbey, for Reed, asked her client’s sentence be suspended, insisting she was motivated not by greed but by a genuine “vocational wish” to help other people.

She said Reed had wanted to supplement her income after failed, financially restrictive marriages and pay her foster son’s private school fees.

“I can’t say anything to excuse the long period of dishonesty offending, but the context for it is a misguided, unsophisticated, wrong, ‘needs must’ approach to life,” she said.

“This woman was a survivor — that’s how it started and, unfortunately, it continued.”

Ms Abbey said Reed now lived in an aged care facility herself and no longer had dependants, removing any motivation to reoffend.

Judge Paul Muscat remanded Reed on continuing bail for sentencing next month.

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