Fraud team protects £160 million by closing gaps on NHS procurement

The dedicated team from the NHS Counter Fraud Authority’s (NHSCFA) Fraud Prevention Unit carried out the extensive three-year exercise in more than 200 NHS Trusts across the country to help identify fraud risks in procurement processes and evaluate spending behaviour.

Working collaboratively with NHS bodies at a local level, the fraud prevention specialists were able to identify vulnerable areas within NHS finance and procurement systems potentially open to the threat of fraud, which could have left the NHS exposed to a financial risk of circa £156.8 million.

Closing the ‘window of opportunity’

Fraud prevention lead Lorraine Harris has explained how the exercise has helped to close the ‘window of opportunity’ for fraudsters, while also improving NHS services for employees and users.

“This has been a helpful insight into how NHS processes and systems work and how best together we can protect them from fraud,” stated Harris. “We have estimated that £156.8 million, which previously could have fallen through the procurement gap, is now more closely protected and has significantly improved resilience against fraud within the NHS.”

Further, Harris noted: “It’s also an excellent example of just how important this collaborative approach is in protecting our NHS. We will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure the public purse is protected and that funds are spent as they are intended within patient care.”

Partnership working

Richard Hampton, head of intelligence and prevention for the NHSCFA, also believes that partnership working is absolutely key to understanding the risk of fraud and, importantly, preventing it from occurring.

Hampton said: “By shining the spotlight on procurement fraud vulnerabilities and NHS bodies taking proactive action to reduce the risk of fraud, this will help to safeguard NHS funds and ensure these resources are rightfully directed to patient care. It would not have been possible for the NHSCFA to undertake this work without the participation of NHS bodies and their Local Counter Fraud Specialists, finance and procurement functions. The NHSCFA is grateful to all those organisations and staff for their work in this exercise.”