Attiya Sheikh, 46, and her husband Omer, 48, both of Glasgow, were convicted following a prosecution by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

The couple used four accounts on the internet site to sell the items between May and October 2020.

During that six-month period, they made almost £8,000 from the online sale of stolen PPE, including medical gloves, facemasks and wipes.

But their crimes came to light after NHS Counter Fraud Services received an allegation in relation to the potential theft and resale of PPE either from NHS National Distribution Centre or a distributed Healthboard location.

The couple were sentenced at Paisley Sheriff Court after they both admitted a charge of reset.

Attiya Sheikh, a doctor at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride, and her husband were jailed for 10 months each.

Faye Cook, Procurator Fiscal for North Strathclyde, said: “This was a particularly egregious crime.

“The public put their trust in medical practitioners. As a hospital doctor, Attiya Sheikh betrayed that trust at a time of acute need when patients and NHS staff relied heavily on the availability of Personal Protective Equipment.

“For her and her husband to benefit financially from this criminal conduct will shock many people.

“But now they have both been brought to account for their crimes and must face the consequences of their actions.

“We will always prosecute financial crime of this nature where there is a sufficiency of evidence and it is in the public interest to do so.”

The court heard how in July 2020 NHS Counter Fraud Services began an investigation into the potential theft and resale of PPE on Ebay.

The investigation led to the identification of four separate Ebay accounts which were connected to both accused.

These accounts were found to be selling medical gloves and wipes by a brand which supplied PPE to NHS hospitals in Scotland.

NHS Counter Fraud Service specialists carried out a search of the couple’s home in the south side of Glasgow and discovered 121 boxes of PPE belonging to the NHS hidden in a converted attic.

The value of the stolen items was put at £7,827.

When questioned by police, Attiya Sheikh claimed she had been given the gloves at Hairmyres by a man named Andrew Ferguson.

However, subsequent enquiries established that there was no one of that name who worked at the hospital.

Gordon Young, Head of NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services at NHS National Services Scotland, said: “This individual was aware that this personal protective equipment (PPE) had been unlawfully appropriated and as a clinician she would have understood the importance of PPE for NHS Scotland staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services led the investigation which secured this conviction, and our work included locating 121 boxes of gloves which had been intended to protect our frontline staff.

“This successful prosecution reaffirms NHS Scotland’s commitment to safeguarding vital resources for health service provision as intended by the taxpayer.”