| A team from NHS Scotland’s counter fraud services (CFS) was visiting Ninewells Hospital as part of a month-long tour of the country to highlight their work. They will be at Perth Royal Infirmary tomorrow.
About £8 billion is spent on health every year. In what CFS describes as a “conservative estimate”, about 1% of that, or £80 million, is lost through fraud by staff, patients and contractors.
NHS Tayside has a budget of more than £560 million, so it is potentially being cheated out of £5.6 million of taxpayer’s money every year.
When he launched the campaign a few days ago, deputy health minister Lewis Macdonald described fraud as “a hidden disease” that was draining funds from frontline patient services. He urged all healthcare professionals and members of the public to report any suspicions to CFS staff, anonymously if they wish.
The CFS says, “The vast majority of NHS Scotland staff have a deep commitment to the NHS and are protective of its reputation and its resources. However, there is a minority who will attempt to obtain benefits and funds to which they are not entitled.”
Across Scotland hundreds, perhaps thousands, of patients commit fraud by claiming they are entitled to free dental, optical or pharmacy services when they ought to be paying for them.
Free treatment costs the NHS £400 million a year, and CFS staff carry out more than 50,000 spot checks annually to try to detect crimes amid the vast majority of genuine claims.
In 2004/05, more than £100,000 was recovered from fraudsters.
Sadly, some doctors, dentists, opticians and pharmacists are also on the make, claiming payments for services they do not provide or for fictitious patients.
Examples include billing for drugs not dispensed, carrying out unnecessary eye tests or saying a patient has been given a gold filling when no precious metal was used.
The head of CFS, Neil Billing, said, “CFS has had strong support from all NHS organisations and staff, helping to deliver savings. We all need to be vigilant against this type of crime, to prevent it damaging our NHS.”
Anyone wishing to report a suspected fraud to NHS counter fraud services can contact them either on a free phone hotline (08000 151628) or on their website at www.cfs.scot.nhs.uk |
