HEALTH chiefs have described the actions of an NHS worker who stole £1.3 million of vital medical equipment before selling them for just £70,000 as 'shameful.'

Daniel Dreghorn's opportunistic crimes left cancer patients without potentially life-saving equipment following the hospital theft because they were too expensive to be replaced.

He carried out the thefts over two years at a decontamination unit where he worked at Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine.

He then sold them for a fraction of their value to wholesale dealers in the UK, US and Hong Kong.

NHS Scotland yesterday hit out at his actions as Dreghorn was held in custody awaiting sentence after he pleaded guilty to theft at the High Court in Glasgow.

Fraser Paterson, National Counter Fraud Manager at NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services, which led the investigation, said: “This was a shameful crime that Dreghorn carried out.

"The NHS is a jewel in Scotland’s crown because of the way it is funded and the fact that it’s free at the point of care.

"This crime not only had a serious financial impact on the health board concerned, it also had a health impact on patients, some of whom desperately needed the treatment that this money should have provided. Counter Fraud Services will continue to work in partnership with all health boards in Scotland to prevent, detect and investigate crime of this nature and will pursue criminals whenever they are identified.”

The court heard Dreghorn was only caught in March last year after a patient sparked an investigation after an operation was suddenly cancelled.

This was due to medics not having the appropriate equipment as a result of the theft.

When police later raided the 39-year-old's home in Kilwinning, they discovered some of the stolen equipment hidden in his garden hut.

Judge Lord Tunbull heard how NHS Ayrshire and Arran do not have the funds to replace the vital equipment.

He branded the crime shockingly cynical as sentencing was deferred until September.

Advocate depute Bill McVicar said the theft has resulted in a more stressful working environment for hospital staff affected by the crime.

He added: "From the existing tight budget, the health board is unable to fund the replacement of the stolen items."

Lord Turnbull deferred sentencing on the first offender for reports but told Dreghorn: "You have pled guilty to an offence which displayed shockingly, cynical conduct.

"This was a theft on a massive scale of sophisticated medical equipment."

Dreghorn, 39, of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, worked as a production supervisor in the Central Decontamination Unit in the hospital.

The unit is a purpose built facility that provides decontamination reprocessing of theatre instrument sets before returning them to local hospitals.

Following the cancellation of a routine operation in February 2014, due to a lack of clean medical devices, a check by the health board revealed that a substantial quantity of medical scopes, used in surgical procedures, were unaccounted for.

Further detailed stock takes revealed that 134 sets of medical equipment had been stolen from University Hospitals in Ayr and Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock.

Records revealed Dreghorn was on duty on the dates that the sets were last accounted for.

Dreghorn was arrested and suspended following an investigation.

A search of his home recovered some medical devices and evidence that he had sold stolen medical equipment to wholesalers.