A greedy dental nurse who stole £5,000 from her ill employer has been struck off.

Karen McDonagh abused her position as practice manager and receptionist at the White House Dental Practice in New Malden to pocket the cash over an 18-month period, the General Dental Council heard.

The professional conduct committee heard that McDonagh, who was responsible for banking and cash within the practice, altered patient records to cover her tracks between April 2008 and December 2009.

Speaking after the hearing, the owner of the Kingston Road dental clinic, Ruth Debney, said because she was seriously ill and had to take time off work, McDonagh had been put in charge of the practice.

She said: “Originally she was a dental nurse, in recent years she was practice manager. It took a long time because I was off sick for a year and part-time for a couple of years.

“It was not a particularly good period of time for me, I was back and forward with ill health, which was why she could take advantage.”

The committee decided to erase McDonagh’s name from the Dental Care Professionals register at the hearing at the International Dispute Resolution Centre, in London, on Thursday, January 12.

McDonagh was not present or represented.

Mrs Debney, who has owned the practice since 2003 and worked there for 21 years, said she did not know where McDonagh was but said she had been waiting for her to be struck off since she suspended her two years ago.

She said: “I spent two years putting the case to rest really. That’s what I have been waiting two years to happen.

“It was just greed; there was no obvious reason, just that she was able to do that. I am sure you can imagine how I felt.”

McDonagh was convicted at Kingston Crown Court on November 25 of the theft last year and carried out 200 hours of community service and paid £5,000 compensation.