NHS Protect FAQs

Context

What is the wider context that requires and supports the setting up of NHS Protect?
  • The Government has introduced a new landscape for the NHS, including new arrangements for the commissioning of services for the NHS.  

Vision

What is the purpose of NHS Protect?
  • Its purpose is to tackle crime and meet current and emerging challenges facing the NHS. It will ensure that the most appropriate anti-crime arrangements are put in place within the reformed NHS.
  • It will also support the NHS in meeting two key commitments in the NHS Constitution: That care can be delivered and received in a safe and secure way; and that resources, as provided by the taxpayer, are used effectively.

Remit

What are NHS Protect’s areas of responsibility?
  • Bribery
  • Corruption
  • Criminal Damage
  • Counter Terrorism and Security Preparedness
  • Fraud
  • Theft
  • Violence, harassment, abuse and anti-social behaviour
  • Department of Health Investigation of corruption, fraud or unlawful activity in cases affecting the NHS
  • Other unlawful action (e.g. market fixing).

Aims

What are the main aims of NHS Protect?
  • To provide national leadership for NHS anti-crime work by applying a strategic, co-ordinated, intelligence-led and evidence based approach.
  • To work in partnership with the NHS, DH, NHS Commissioning Board and with our key stakeholders including with the police, CPS and local authorities to coordinate and deliver our anti crime work, to take action against those who commit offences against the NHS and raise standards and professionalism of anti-crime work across the NHS.
  • To lead investigations into serious, organised and/or complex financial risks and losses including fraud, bribery and corruption within a clear professional and ethical framework.
  • To establish a safe and secure environment that: protects NHS staff from violence, harassment and abuse; safeguards NHS property and assets from theft, misappropriation, or criminal damage; and has in place systems to protect resources from fraud, bribery and corruption.
  • To quality assure the delivery of anti-crime work to ensure the highest standard is consistently applied.

Objectives in more detail

What are the objectives, in more detail, of NHS Protect?
  • Identify and prioritise national crime risks affecting the NHS, with a focus on the most serious.
  • Coordinate efforts to tackle crime efficiently, professionally and at reasonable cost.
  • Manage and share information and intelligence so crime is prevented wherever possible.
  • Increase local accountability and build processes to enhance local performance.
  • Support local detection, investigation and prosecution of crime against the NHS.
  • Centrally take forward complex and cross boundary matters than cannot or would not be dealt with locally.
  • Deliver information, expert advice and recommendations to prevent fraud and security incidents/ breaches at local and national levels at the earliest opportunity, and reduce opportunities for crime.
  • Use proactive media and stakeholder engagement to deter crime and promote positive practices.
  • Educate and inform NHS staff, contractors and public about crime, its true cost, and how to tackle it.
  • Where necessary, change perceptions of crime against the NHS so it is not tolerated.
  • Seek redress and recover sums lost to crime, where possible.

Dedicated NHS anti-crime service

Why does crime against the NHS need its own dedicated service?

Crimes against the NHS seriously undermine the effectiveness and ability to deliver the best quality of healthcare and experience. NHS Protect is launching this strategy to tackle crime across the NHS and meet the current and emerging challenges.

Department of Health and Commissioning Board

How will NHS Protect serve the Department of Health (DH) and the Commissioning Board?
NHS Protect’s remit is to provide strategic and tactical guidance to health bodies, advice to the Department of Health and to work closely with the emerging NHS Commissioning Board.  

 

Local level

What will local level bodies be responsible for?
NHS Protect envisages that GP consortia and provider bodies will:
  • Demonstrate their strengthened local accountability.
  • Deliver the NHS Protect national strategy at a local level.
  • Make the proper investment locally in anti-crime measures including:
     - fully trained professional investigators in post
     - robust contractual arrangements and monitoring mechanisms.
  • Where NHS services are made by private provision, we also expect that they make suitable anti-crime provisions backed up by contractual arrangements to protect NHS staff and resources.

What will NHS Protect provide for the local level bodies?

  • Increased levels of support, guidance and direction.
  • Improved management of information and criminal intelligence.
  • Crime will be prevented by targeting and co-ordinating the work of NHS Protect effectively.
  • Deal with those complex and cross boundary matters that cannot be dealt with locally.
  • Coordinating, regulating and maximising the benefit of localised investments made to tackle crime.
  • Evaluation model to allow assessment of the effectiveness of crime prevention activity and improve future proactive work. This work will lead to enhanced performance across the NHS.
  • Professionally train those who tackle crime locally and ensure they continue to meet the required standard.

Raising standards

What will NHS Protect do to raise and maintain standards of fighting crime?
  • Introduce an innovative national quality assurance process to assist NHS organisations to evaluate their anti-crime provision.
  • Disseminate best and innovative practice across the NHS.
  • Where there is any shortfall, work with NHS bodies to help them provide the highest standard of anti-crime work.
  • Work alongside Care Quality Commission and Monitor and other regulatory stakeholders.
  • Ensure anti-crime work contributes to the provision of the highest quality care for patients in new NHS.
  • Provide professional training programme for local specialists.
  • Provide innovative Continuous Professional Development and Key Skills training to local specialists.
  • Maintain and improve communications and engagement with key stakeholder partners.

Working with others

Resources are tight. What will NHS Protect do to work with others?
  • Successfully enlist the support of stakeholders - other agencies who also tackle crime, those who have an interest in the NHS and especially those who work for or are treated by the NHS - to tackle crime in the NHS.
  • Expect NHS organisations to take tough action against those who commit crime.
  • Encourage stronger links between NHS organisations, the police and other agencies in tackling crime.
  • Expect NHS organisations to work together to develop anti-crime initiatives and in partnership with others including the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), local authorities and community groups.
  • Broker national agreements with key stakeholders.
  • Provide local specialists with the necessary information and intelligence to investigate successfully and take cases forward for prosecution.
  • Provide free legal advice to NHS organisations to assist with cases such as violence, harassment and abuse.
  • Bring prosecutions in partnership with the police and CPS.
  • Take action independently where the police and CPS decline to act.
  • Comprehensive quality assurance process and far-ranging standards to help NHS organisations objectively assess their own anti-crime provisions.

National investigations

Which cases will be taken on by NHS Protect’s National Investigation Service?   There will inevitably be serious, complex or cross boundary fraud and corruption that cannot be taken forward locally. For these cases, NHS Protect’s National Investigation Service will review the case and, where strategic priorities and available resources allow, take them on.  

 

Evaluation of anti-crime performance

What will NHS Protect do to monitor its own performance and that of local NHS anti-crime measures?
  • Monitor performance through clearly defined KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
  • NHS Protect will ensure that proper anti-crime measures are introduced over the next two years.
  • Ensure the continuation of anti-crime provisions in relevant legislation and contractual requirements. This includes the continuation in the provision of specialists as existing organisations merge and new ones come into being.
  • Following the two year transition period, NHS Protect will introduce a five year business plan.
  • Five year plan will lay out its intentions to protect the new NHS by preventing crime over the long term, and to quantify and measure our success in the new NHS.
  • NHS Protect will continue to contribute to the reform process and promote our central anti- crime message.

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