Forensic computing helps NHS save over £800m
- 10 January 2007
The NHS Forensic Computing Unit has helped the service save over £800m in the last seven years, according to figures released by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
Since October 2003, the unit, part of the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management service, has worked on over 100 fraud cases with a potential value of approximately £64m, helping to secure over 100 prosecutions and recover over £570,000 in NHS funds.
Mike Grieveson, head of the NHS Forensic Computing Unit, said: “Our success is not just down to our skills in forensic computing. As experienced counter fraud specialists we know that the difference between a successful and failed investigation can be about getting the right evidence quickly. We know what investigators want and where to look for it. Without forensic evidence gathered from computer systems, some cases may never have reached court and the NHS may never have recovered the money it has.”
The figures are revealed in NHS Counter Fraud Service (NHS CFS) Performance Statistics for 1999-2006, which show that fraud committed by patients has fallen by 55 per cent from £171m in 1998 to £76m in 2006.
The figures also reveal that fraud by NHS professionals is falling by up to 60% in key areas and to date there has been a total of 360 prosecutions and 434 civil and disciplinary sanctions, with a 96% successful prosecution rate.
Case included the Edmonton administrator jailed for record tampering and a Newcastle doctor who was jailed for 12 months in November for defrauding the NHS of over £41,000 by making false overtime claims.
An NHS CFS spokesperson told E-Health Insider that the unit was equipped with the latest analytical tools and software, which had been fundamental to them recovering digital evidence and recovering falsely claimed funds.
Other examples of the work the Forensic Computing Unit has done can be found on its website.
According to the Department of Health, the success in tackling NHS fraud has meant an extra £811m has been spent on patient care in over the last seven years, equivalent to 53,000 kidney transplants or 35,000 nurses for a year, which represents a 12:1 return on the budgetary investment in counter fraud work.
Health minister, Rosie Winterton, said: “Fraud is not a victimless crime. In respect of the NHS, it is patients who are losing out, which is why this success is so important. With less money being lost, more money is reaching the frontline…Whilst fraud still exists in the NHS, we must continue to prevent, detect and punish these crimes.”
The news comes as Jim Gee, the Department of Health’s Director of Counter Fraud Services, who has led the work to tackle fraud in the NHS since September 1998, announced he is leaving the post.
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