CHEATING nursing assistant Keira Lowe walked free from court after fiddling the NHS out of £20,000.
Pregnant Lowe, 21, was paid for 180 bank shifts she had not done at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Gloucester Crown Court heard.
She exploited a "weak" system for two years.
But a whistleblower who spotted she was making claims for dates in the future brought an end to her fraud.
After being told that Lowe, who has a two-year-old toddler, had been the victim of two abusive relationships, Judge Jamie Tabor QC said she was a "vulnerable" woman who needed help.
He sentenced her to three months' jail suspended for two years. She admitted false accounting.
The judge told Lowe, Cinderford, that her crimes were made worse because the NHS was facing cutbacks.
Lowe wrongly received £15,666 but the trust lost a total of £20,984 because of the National Insurance and pension payments.
William Woodman, defending, said: "It was not to buy nice things, it was just to pay the electric bill at the end of the month."
NHS counter fraud specialist Sallie Cheung said: "The staff have been left shocked.
"When you're an honest person giving more than money can pay for, to find that a colleague has been ripping off the trust has been devastating."
Lowe offered to repay it bit by bit but the NHS plans to go to court to secure repayments.
