An Aberdeen woman carried out an elaborate drugs swindle by going to doctors’ surgeries and pharmacies across the north-east and pretending to be other patients to score strong pain medication.
Roseann Reid, 50, went to 10 health centres on various occasions and assumed the identities of two women in order to fraudulently obtain their prescriptions for naproxen and dihydrocodeine.
She also turned up at different pharmacies across Grampian to collect the drugs in a scam that lasted more than two years.
Reid managed to obtain pain pill prescriptions from doctors in Aberdeen, Peterhead, Banchory and Huntly – often claiming to suffer from kidney stones.
The fraud even took Reid as far afield as Angus, where she got hold of drugs from a surgery in Montrose, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
Patient never got drugs
Fiscal depute Claire Stewart told the court that one of the victims, a diabetes sufferer, knew Reid personally and at around the beginning of May 2021 she was further prescribed dihydrocodeine and naproxen.
The drugs were to be delivered to her local pharmacy, but the woman never received the text to say the drugs were ready for collection.
“She contacted the prescription line to reorder, which she did,” Ms Stewart said.
“On May 19 the accused attended Boots Pharmacy, Inverurie, and requested the prescription of the complainer, confirming the name and home address and correct contact details.
“The accused was given the prescription and left.
“When the complainer attended to pick up her prescription she was told that someone had collected it prior to her arrival.”
Reid was able to do this on numerous occasions before the pharmacy raised the alarm with the woman’s GP.
Reid asked for pain tablets
The fiscal depute told the court that Reid was also attending at various health centres, using the name of another woman, and claiming to have stomach pain and kidney stones.
She stated that she had a previous prescription for naproxen and told them that she had been prescribed 60 tablets of dihydrocodeine.
Reid managed to do this on 10 different occasions at doctors’ surgeries in Aberdeen, Peterhead, Banchory, Pitmedden, Huntly and Montrose.
In the dock, Reid pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulently obtaining medication from pharmacies in the north-east.
She also admitted a further charge of carrying out a fraudulent scheme by providing false details to obtain drugs from the doctors surgeries.
Solicitor: Accused struggles with back pain
Defence solicitor Stuart Murray told the court that Reid had perpetrated the fraud to obtain drugs after his client had major back surgery in 2011, which worsened the condition.
“She was treated by a GP and essentially, he became concerned about the quantity and the frequency with which she was applying for repeat prescriptions.
“Eventually this GP decided to cut her off from that supply and that forced her to find alternative routes.
“The reality is that she couldn’t cope with the pain and she still struggles with it.”
Mr Murray added that Reid now manages her back pain with over-the-counter medication only.
Sheriff Lesley Johnston deferred sentence in Reid, of Hoy Place, Aberdeen, until next month in order for a criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty order assessment to be carried out.
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