The government has announced how it will take tougher
action on fraud and save hundreds of millions of pounds for
the NHS over the next 5 years, increasing the money
available for improving patient care.
The plans were announced by Health and Social Care
Secretary .
The new approach will start with a commitment to halve
prescription fraud, which costs the NHS £256 million a
year.
Prescription exemptions will be digitised, allowing
pharmacies to check whether the patient does not have to
pay charge before their medication is dispensed. This will
be piloted next year, before being rolled out across the
NHS.
The focus on prescriptions is one aspect of a wider
crackdown on NHS fraud, which will prevent up to £300
million being lost to fraud by April 2020. This is part of
the government’s commitment to ensuring public finances are
managed responsibly and that every penny invested goes
towards improving care.
Further measures being introduced to stop fraud include:
-
a new partnership between the NHS Counter Fraud
Authority (NHSCFA) and the fraud prevention service
Cifas, allowing NHS counter-fraud professionals to
access Cifas data
-
more collaboration and data sharing between the NHS
Business Services Authority and NHSCFA to identify the
small number of pharmacists and dentists claiming
payments for services they have not carried out
-
the introduction of
a new counter-fraud profession in central
government, bringing together around 10,000
counter-fraud specialists, including 400 focused on
fraud in the NHS
NHSCFA will take forward these measures. It will work with
its data-sharing partners to analyse large amounts of
information and identify anomalies, unusual activity and
inconsistencies in the NHS, referring to NHS investigators
for further action.
NHSCFA was set up in November 2017 and replaces NHS
Protect, which has been working to stop fraud since 2010.
Fraud in the NHS ranges from a few pounds, to hundreds of
thousands and occasionally millions.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
Those who abuse the NHS and choose to line their own
pockets with money that should be spent on patients and
frontline care will no longer have anywhere to hide. The
new technology and analysis, combined with intel and
experience of counter-fraud specialists will form the
starting point of this new fight against NHS fraudsters.
We’re determined to make sure every penny of the extra
funding we are giving the NHS as part of our long-term
plan is properly spent. The message is clear: the NHS is
no longer an easy target, and if you try to steal from it
you will face the consequences.
Sue Frith, interim CEO of the NHS Counter Fraud Authority,
said:
I am delighted that the Health and Social Care Secretary
is showing such a keen interest in addressing fraud and
supporting the NHS Counter Fraud Authority in its vital
mission to prevent and detect fraud against the NHS. It
is key to our success that we collaborate with others and
I am confident that as we work with partners this
ambitious target will be achieved.
The more data sets we are able to access from partners
such as Cifas and the NHS Business Services Authority,
the more fraud we can detect and prevent. NHSCFA are
actively engaging with the fintech sector to identify
technological solutions that could enhance data
examination and exploitation capability.
