Counter Fraud

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The Trust is committed to maintaining an honest, open, and well-intentioned approach so as to best fulfill the objectives of the NHS. This means fraud, bribery and corruption related activity will not be tolerated.

Fraud against the NHS means that the money intended for patient care, and funded by the taxpayer, ends up in the pockets of those who did not legitimately earn it. It means fewer resources are available to be spent on frontline health services such as patientcare, health care facilities, and staff.

Fraud, bribery, corruption, and other illegal acts committed to obtain financial or professional gain, cost the NHS billions of pounds every year. It is estimated that the cost to the NHS is around £1.2 billion per annum, as per the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, who assess that to be enough money to pay for over 5,000 frontline ambulances or 40,000 staff nurses.

The Trust expect all our staff and suppliers to operate in accordance with our values and policies, and to have the best interests of the NHS and our service users in mind. We are committed to the elimination of fraud, bribery, and corruption, to the rigorous investigation of any such allegations and to taking appropriate action against such individuals that includes criminal prosecution and recovery of losses as a result of any criminal act.

Counter fraud policy and Anti-bribery policy

The Trust procures goods and services ethically and transparently with the quality, price and value for money determining the successful supplier or contractor, not by receiving (or offering) improper benefits.

No person representing the Trust or involved in the procurement of goods or services may accept any bribe or other inducement, either personally or on behalf of the organisation, that seeks to influence or may be perceived to influence, any procurement decisions.

The Trust will not engage in any form of bribery. The Trust, all employees and suppliers shall at all times comply with the Bribery Act 2010.

View the Trust's Counter Fraud Policy

View the Trust's Anti Bribery Policy

Raising concerns

If you have any suspicions or concerns, please talk to the Trust’s Local Counter Fraud Specialist as soon as possible. They will be able to provide you with appropriate advice and guidance with any issues relating to fraud or bribery.

It is important to remember that your concerns may be important to prevent on-going fraud being committed against the Trust and to prevent funds being diverted away from patient care.

The Trust’s Local Counter Fraud Specialist is Kirsty Clarke. She can be contacted on 07436 268545 or kirsty.clarke8@nhs.net.

Alternatively, you can call the NHS Counter Fraud Authority’s 24-hour reporting line on 0800 0284060 or report online. Visit the NHS Counter Fraud Authority website.

We all play an essential role in helping to reduce fraud and bribery in the NHS – Spot it, report it, together we stop it.

National Fraud Initiative

The Trust are required by law to protect the public funds we administer. We may share information provided with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud. The Cabinet Office is responsible for carrying out data matching exercises.

Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same or another body to determine the extent of the match. This is usually personal information. Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified. Where a match is found it may indicate that there is an inconsistency which requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out.

We participate in the Cabinet Office's National Fraud Initiative: a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. Find out more about the National Fraud Initiative.

The processing of data by the Cabinet Office in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority under its powers in Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under data protection legislation or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). View further information on the reasons why it matches particular information.

For further information on data matching at the Trust, please contact our Local Counter Fraud Specialist. View further information on how the NFI has assisted the NHS and other public sector organisations.