A mum has been jailed for six months for trying to swindle more than £5.7 million out of the NHS as she toured the world from Singapore to Scotland.
Linda Metcalf, 37, claimed she could barely walk or stand, hardly ever went out and was unable to even dress herself due to her painful spine condition.
But the mum of one was busted as a faker after health chiefs put her under surveillance.
She launched a huge claim for medical negligence saying she due to her mistreatment she needed sticks to get around and was unable to drive.
The Mirror reported that her lies were exposed when she was found to have been going on posh shopping trips without any assistance.
Between visits to doctors to pursue her claim, she visited New Zealand, Fiji, Hong Kong, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Thailand, Wales, Scotland and Scarborough promenade.
IT worker, Metcalf, who has a two-year-old daughter, launched her gigantic claim for medical negligence against her local NHS health trust after a 24 hour delay in diagnosis of a spine condition.
Metcalf accepted a first payment of £75,000 before her lies were exposed. A Judge at Leeds combined court was told she now admits lying about the extent of her mobility problems.
The court heard how she told a Harley Street doctor in October 2017 she could hardly walk but in that same month she went on overnight trips to the Peak District, Wales and York.
Then in November she went to stay in a country house in Cheshire and had a holiday to Lanzarote. Over Christmas she went to County Durham, the Lake District and Scotland at the end of January.
She then headed off on a five week trip until March, to Singapore, Fiji, Hong Kong and New Zealand. The Judge was told Metcalf also enjoyed a boating holiday on the Norfolk Broads in April 2018 around the time she was meeting experts about the case.
During one trip to the upmarket Liberty store in London, she wrote on Facebook: “The Christmas floor is definitely worth a visit.”
She also reviewed a guest house in York, saying her room was on the “top floor” and was “light airy and elegant”.
Claire Toogood, acting on behalf of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, said no admission was made by the defendant until she was “caught out” by the surveillance tapes.
She said: “The trust’s submission is, it is difficult to conceive of a case involving so many instances of contempt over such a long period of time”.
The judge watched video surveillance of Metcalf telling a doctor how she was unable to drive and could not stand for more than a minute.
But the footage showed her driving, walking up steps, walking without sticks and queuing for half an hour in a hotel reception unaided.
Ms Toogood argued sentences in such cases of Contempt of Court and making false claims had to act as a warning to others.
Metcalf, who is from Bradford but has been living in Stockport with her boyfriend, was said to have been “horrified” by her own dishonesty.
Mr Peter Gilmour, representing her in court on Thursday, said: “Her position is that in the beginning she did not sit down and think ‘how much money can I get out of this claim?’
“It was something that she drifted into and is now horrified, looking back, at what she did and how dishonest she was.
“She has ruined her life and she’s brought shame on herself and her family...She has genuine remorse.
“She arrived in court with her bags packed. She has known for two years she could go to jail. She hates herself for what she’s done. “
The court heard she had started a clinical negligence claim against the trust after a 24 hour delay in diagnosing Cauda Equina Syndrome. The condition is where a spinal prolapse compresses the nerves at the base of the spine, the judge was told.
If the nerves become compressed it can affect the bowel and bladder function.
The court heard that Metcalf had paid back £75,000 of the damages which she had initially been paid, by selling her house in Stockport.
Judge Mr Justice Griffiths said: “She gave a completely stage managed appearance about her disability.
“On July 23rd, 2018, she was interviewed at her parents’ house when she said that she could not get in or out of her car without someone to help her.
“She was misleading, and that was shown on more than one occasion.
“It was not a one off, it was a course of conduct which was sustained relentlessly over a course of years.”
A spokesman for the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The proceedings should not deter genuine claimants as the Trust and NHS Resolution will continue to ensure that those who have suffered injury as a result of substandard care are properly compensated.
“The case should, however, be seen as a demonstration of our commitment to combatting fraud against the NHS when everyone is working so hard to care for patients in genuine need.”
