NHS Protect – in essence the new operating name for the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service – now holds overall national responsibility to lead work on protecting NHS staff and resources from crime and criminality.
The organisation 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 tackling fraud, bribery, violence, corruption, criminal damage, theft and other unlawful action such as market-fixing.
In practice, NHS Protect will co-ordinate and regulate the existing investment made by health bodies to tackle crime, at the same time dealing effectively and efficiently with those complex and cross-boundary cases that cannot be tackled on a local basis.
Different approach to tackling crime
This morning Dermid McCausland – managing director of NHS Protect – set out the new organisation’s approach to tackling crime against the health service.
“We will apply a strategic, co-ordinated and intelligence-led approach to identifying and tackling crime against the NHS at the earliest possible opportunity,” urged McCausland.
“By managing information and intelligence from all parts of the NHS, and then sharing this data as required, we can target and co-ordinate our work to best effect, as well as providing increased levels of support, guidance and direction to local NHS bodies.”
McCausland told SMT Online that this joined-up approach to tackling crime in the NHS will enable the proper use of valuable NHS resources “to create a safer, more secure environment” in which to deliver and receive NHS care.
The new NHS Protect will build on the successes of the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service, which recovered over GB pound 65 million between 1999 and 2010.
The value of fraud and unlawful action identified in 2009-2010 was GB pound 10,951,069. In 2009-2010, the NHS CFS successfully prosecuted 65 criminal cases.
Comment from the National Fraud Authority
Speaking about today’s announcement, Dr Bernard Herdan – CEO of the National Fraud Authority (NFA) and former interim CEO of the Security Industry Authority – commented: “With public sector fraud costing the UK GB pound 21.2 billion every year, NHS Protect is a vital link in the fight against fraud, complementing the work the NFA and Cabinet Office have undertaken to reduce fraud across Government.”
Herdan added: “In particular, NHS Protect will have an important role to play during the ongoing evolvement of NHS structures and services in ensuring new systems put in place engineer out fraud from the start.”
Meantime, Dr Peter Carter – chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing – said: “We welcome the creation of NHS Protect, and hope this will continue the excellent work of the NHS Security Management Service in protecting nurses and healthcare assistants from physical and verbal abuse.”
Carter continued: “All NHS employers need to ensure that they take all necessary steps to protect their staff from violence and abuse, and we hope that NHS Protect will support this edict very strongly.”
As more and more parts of the NHS face pressures from cutbacks, tensions could rise and this could become even more important.
“The NHS should be tough on the perpetrators of assaults,” explained Carter, “as well as ensuring that crime doesn’t jeopardise patient care.”
For further information on NHS Protect access the website (a dedicated link is provided on the right hand panel of this page)
To report any incident of suspected fraud in the NHS, call the Fraud and Corruption Reporting Line on 0800 028 40 60 or report online (again, a link has been provided)
