An administrator at an Edmonton surgery who put the lives of patients at risk by tampering with records to extract thousands of pounds from the NHS has been jailed.

Vinod Thapar, 62, of Fairgreen, Cockfosters, admitted four accounts of obtaining property by deception after falsifying contracts, and altering medical records at the Silver Street Medical Centre, in Edmonton Over the course of his ten years at the practice, it is believed Thapar defrauded Enfield and Haringey Primary Care Trust out of at least £37,500.

The court heard how Thapar's deceptions helped the practice claim extra cash for meeting targets. Investigators from the NHS's Counter Fraud Southwark Crown Court heard how he would repeatedly insist staff amend patients' medical profiles to enable him to claim for target bonuses he was not entitled to.

By changing the date of patients' last appointments, Thapar could have delayed cancer screenings and early detection of the disease.

It was also discovered that Thapar asked employees to sign a series of bogus Access to Work forms.

The forms allowed the practice to claim money back which they had spent employing support workers to assist a disabled doctor who worked at the practice.

Thapar would put the form in front of colleagues and ask them to sign without explaining what it was. Sometimes he would tell them: "It has to do with getting paid."

When one member of staff asked to read the form, Thapar took it away and never asked him to sign another one.

One patient had not been to the medical centre since 1983, but her records claimed she had been examined in 1997 and 2003.

Sentencing Thapar, Judge Geoffrey Riovlin QC said: "What you did over a substantial period of time was unethical in the extreme. In fact it could have resulted in the delay of important medical tests for patients and indeed put their lives at risk.

"You abused an important position of trust to steal money from the National Health Service. It is in my view an offence so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence would be appropriate."

The judge sentenced Thapar to 18 months in prison and also ordered him to pay £37,500 compensation to the Primary Care Trust, and £40,000 in court costs.

All patients that were affected by the actions of Vinod Thapar were contacted by the PCT following his arrest on July 2, 2004.

Sally Johnson, Chief Executive of Enfield PCT said: "Enfield PCT takes fraud very seriously. The PCT has spent many hours working with NHS Counter Fraud and the Metropolitan Police Economic and Specialist Crime Unit to secure this conviction. The sentence sends out a strong message that NHS fraud is unacceptable. It not only diverts precious NHS resources, it endangers patient care."