Fraud awareness month – an introduction from Dinah

November 1, 2019

This month marks the start of fraud awareness month which promotes openness and honesty about fraud. It also aims to raise awareness and share good practice in tackling fraud and financial crime.

Below is a message from our acting director of finance, Dinah McLannahan:

According to latest estimates, fraud, bribery and corruption costs the NHS £1.29 billion a year – enough money to pay for over 40,000 staff nurses, or to purchase over 5,000 frontline ambulances. This is taxpayers’ money that is taken away from patient care and falls into the hands of criminals.

It’s crucial that colleagues and members of the public are aware of the potential for fraud and bribery offences to occur and know how to report them, to ensure vital NHS resources are protected.

During November the Trust will be supporting fraud awareness month. The aim of this initiative is to raise awareness of fraud and bribery in the NHS and highlight some simple things that can be done to prevent it.

Our Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) has prepared a whole host of materials to raise awareness, including posters, leaflets, and table displays; bulletins, videos and newsletter articles; and training materials.

What you can do to help

I would be very grateful if you would take a moment to read the various communications that will be issued during the month and do not hesitate to contact our LCFS, if you wish to find out more information.

It is easy to report fraud, bribery or corruption affecting the NHS. You can contact our LCFS, Sophie Coster on 07436 268747 or via sophie.coster@rsmuk.com; call NHS Counter Fraud Authority via their 24-hour reporting line on 0800 028 4060 (powered by Crimestoppers), or report online via https://cfa.nhs.uk/reportfraud.

Thank you for supporting this important initiative. NHS Fraud: Spot it, Report it, Together we stop it.