Suspended Health staff facing fraud, misconduct and porn charges pocket fortune at taxpayer expense Suspended Queensland Health staff have still been earning tens of thousands of dollars in salaries - including a midwife who downloaded child porn, figures show. A MIDWIFE who surfed the internet for child porn pocketed $114,392 while suspended on full pay for more than two years before eventually being sacked by Queensland Health. The worker was paid the massive sum at taxpayers' expense for effectively doing nothing for 788 days from February 2011 to April this year. The story is just one of many involving health department staff suspended on full salaries after being accused of crimes like fraud and misconduct - and they cost taxpayers more than half a million dollars last year alone. It comes as the department introduces tougher security such as cameras, locks and swipe card access, to try to stem the tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment including computers terminals, laptops and furniture damaged, lost or stolen from its administrative offices each year. Since January 1, 2011, more than 40 Queensland Health staff were suspended with pay including 18 nurses, two doctors, seven administrators and 12 operational officers for alleged crimes such as stalking and wilful exposure, fraud, theft, drugs and assault. Director-General Tony O'Connell said while Queensland Health didn't comment on specific details of an individual staff member's employment, the midwife facing charges for accessing child pornography "had their employment terminated." "The Public Service Act 2008 provides that during the period of suspension an employee is entitled to normal remuneration, less any amount earned by the employee from alternative employment," he said. In the past three years, three Queensland Health employees were on suspension with pay for more than a year, but have since lost their jobs. They included two nurses charged with theft - both suspended for 428 days in which they received $116,319.31 and $97,543.12 in salaries respectively. "In these cases the decision regarding ongoing employment was dependent on the outcome of a criminal investigation, which can take time to be processed by the courts," Mr O'Connell said. Queensland Health's Loss Register shows $53,702 of property, cash and equipment was lost in 2010-11; $16.69 million went in 2011-12 thanks largely to the monster fraud by finance officer Joel Morehu-Barlow; and $38,279 so far this financial year. "In circumstances of theft of property or equipment, efforts were made to prevent a reoccurrence such as installing locks on cabinets or doors, reducing swipe card access, and installing security cameras," he said. In the circumstances of mishandling petty cash, the incidents were investigated and staff re-educated on the appropriate process and use of cash, or the location of the money relocated to a more appropriate place.