Posters and leaflets highlighting the damaging affects of fraud against the National Health Service (NHS) are being distributed by Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals during October.   Fraud Awareness Month (FAM) runs throughout October 2008 and the Trust is hoping that educating employees and patients about the damaging effects of fraud and some simple ways to stop it will reduce abuse of the service.  In addition to circulating the posters and leaflets Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) Bruce Spottiswoode and colleagues held a Fraud Awareness Day at St. Peter’s Hospital on Friday 3rd October.

Every health body in England and Wales has an accredited Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) who is responsible for overseeing fraud-proofing measures, studying the financial comings and goings, looking for anything suspicious, raising awareness of the issues and investigating allegations of fraud. They are supported regionally and nationally by the NHS Counter Fraud Service, which deals with high-value or complex frauds.

Bruce says: “The work of LCFS and the NHS Counter Fraud Service has already recovered tens of millions of pounds of NHS money across England and led to many fraudsters being prosecuted.  Whilst we don’t believe there is a particular problem at Ashford and St. Peter’s we do need every person who works in and uses the NHS to help us by recognising and reporting any fraud that does occur so we can ensure that the public funds of the NHS are spent on patient care.”

The types of NHS fraud and offenders vary. For example, patients may avoid paying prescription charges by falsely claiming exemptions; staff may gain employment with false documentation, or claim pay for shifts they did not work; and contractors may exaggerate or falsify records of NHS work.

Keith Mansfield, Director of Finance for Ashford and St. Peter’s, says that he fully supports Bruce’s work.  “It is well known that fraud against the NHS is not a victimless crime because these valuable funds are meant for patient care.  We want to send a clear message that fraud will not be tolerated in the NHS and we will support the prosecution of offenders.”

NHS Counter Fraud Service investigations produced potential savings to the NHS nationally of £7,565,014 during 2007–08.

To report any incident of suspected fraud in the NHS, please contact Bruce on 07526-125799 or call the national NHS Fraud and Corruption Reporting Line on 0800 028 40 60.