LEGAL ISSUES
In April, the NHS Counter Fraud Service was replaced by NHS Protect, which has taken on national responsibility for protecting NHS staff and resources from crime. NHS Protect’s Zoe Porton explains.
upporting the Coalition Government’s bold new vision of a better health ser- vice, NHS Protect seeks to ensure that the most appropriate anti-crime arrangements are put into place within an evolving NHS.
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NHS Protect will tackle crimes against the NHS that would otherwise undermine the effectiveness and ability of the health service to meet the needs of patients and professionals. It has responsibility for tack- ling fraud, bribery, violence, corruption, criminal damage, theft and other unlawful action such as market fi xing. The organisa- tion also provides NHS anti-fraud services to the Welsh Assembly Government.
NHS Protect has adopted fi ve high-level or- ganisational aims. These are:
• To provide national leadership for all NHS anti-crime work by applying a stra- tegic, co-ordinated and intelligence led approach;
• To support and work with the
NHS, Department of Health, NHS Commissioning Board and stakeholders to tackle crime at the earliest possible opportunity;
• To
establish a safe and secure environment that protects NHS staff from violence and NHS property and assets from theft or misappropriation;
• To quality assure the delivery of anti- crime work to ensure the highest stand- ard is consistently applied;
• To centrally investigate serious,
organised and/or complex fi nancial risks and losses including fraud, bribery and corruption within a clear professional and ethical framework.
Strong foundations
Tackling crime within the NHS is not new to NHS Protect. Built on the strong foun- dations of the former NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CF- SMS), NHS Protect possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience within the fi eld.
Between 1999 and 2010, CFSMS recovered over £65m of NHS money and prevented many more millions becoming lost to NHS fraud. However, changes to the fraud and corruption landscape, as well as forthcom- ing reforms to the NHS, demanded radical change to existing arrangements.
The new NHS Protect will apply a strategic, co-ordinated and intelligence-led approach to identifying and tackling crime against the NHS at the earliest possible opportunity.
By proactively developing intelligence us- ing every source available and sharing this data it can target and co-ordinate its work to best effect. Using this intelligence-led approach, NHS Protect will be able to edu- cate and inform those who work for or use the NHS about crime and how to tackle it, prevent and deter crime in the NHS to take away the opportunity for crime to occur or reoccur and to hold to account those who
This approach will also result in increased levels of support and direction to local in- vestigators within NHS trusts, giving them the information they need to assess how they will take an allegation of fraud for- ward. The structure of NHS Protect will see a greater shift towards local account- ability, harnessing the talent of some 300 local investigators who are professionally trained and accredited and in place within each health body throughout England and Wales.
By placing its emphasis on local account- ability, NHS Protect can concentrate on co- ordinating, regulating and maximising the benefi t of localised investments made to tackle crime, as well as dealing with those complex and cross-boundary matters that cannot be dealt with locally.
This joined-up approach to tackling crime in the NHS will enable the proper use of valuable resources and a safer, more se- cure environment in which to deliver and receive NHS care.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To report fraud: T: 0800 028 40 60 W:
www.reportnhsfraud.nhs.uk
national health executive May/Jun 11 | 55
have committed crime against the NHS by detecting and prosecuting offenders and seeking address where possible.
Local approach
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