NHS Fraud Awareness Month – November 2006

Heywood Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust (HMRPCT) is taking part in NHS Fraud Awareness Month (FAM) 2006. FAM 2006 is a campaign set to run from 9 November to raise awareness of the damage that fraud against the NHS can do to patient care – and what honest staff and patients can do to help stop it. It will conclude on 9 December, coinciding with the UN’s World Anti Corruption Day.

HMRPCT is committed to helping stamp out fraud that drains the essential resources of the health service and our participation in this year’s FAM shows how determined we are to protect these resources.

The PCT's counter fraud specialist is Gary Stevenson and he investigates reports of suspected fraud, liaise with the NHS Counter Fraud Service (NHS CFS) and monitor the trust’s systems for suspicious activities.

Mr Stevenson said: “HMRPCT believes that the NHS’s essential resources should be used to provide the best possible patient care and that is why we are taking part in this year’s Fraud Awareness Month. We know that the vast majority of our patients, staff and contractors are honest and diligent, and would be horrified at the thought of people taking money that is meant for patient care for personal gain. But it is crucial that this honest majority makes it abundantly clear to the dishonest minority that they will not tolerate such antisocial behaviour.

“We hope that our involvement in FAM 2006 will help the anti-fraud message reach even more people and persuade them to stand shoulder to shoulder in preventing NHS fraud from robbing the health service any more.”

NHS fraud does not recognise where resources come from, does not discriminate between NHS services or staff groups and does not care about the damage it might be doing. The NHS CFS has found fraud in every area of the NHS, committed by staff, professionals, patients, contractors and managers.

NHS counter fraud work benefits patient care daily. This work has provided an extra £675 million for the NHS since 1998 – but the cost of fraud to the health service is still considerable. That is why NHS counter fraud specialists will be carrying out presentations and talks, displaying posters and leaflets and talking to staff and patients about how they can recognise and report suspicions of fraud, and how they can help to dissuade would-be fraudsters from offending.

Anyone can report suspicions of fraud, anonymously if need be, by calling the Fraud and Corruption Reporting Line on 0800 028 40 60.