News
16 November 2009
The annual reported assault figures against NHS staff in England are released today by the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS).
10 November 2009
The vital year-round work of the NHS Security Management Service is explained by Managing Director Dermid McCausland in an online broadcast.
09 November 2009
A woman who used false documents to gain an NHS bursary, training and work, has been sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for six fraud-related offences at Snaresbrook Crown Court (6th November, 2009). The total loss to the NHS was £72,782.69.
30 October 2009
As of 1 November 2009 Olive Oil liquid has been removed from Part VIII of the Drug Tariff
27 October 2009
From 16 November 2009 the NHS Dental Services helpdesk will be relocating to the Newcastle offices of the NHS Business Services Authority.
22 October 2009
A message from NHS Pensions following the announcement of Postal Strikes at the Royal Mail.
20 October 2009
A radiography student who used a fraudulently-obtained British passport to gain her NHS-funded university place and bursary has been sentenced to a total of 19 months’ imprisonment.
19 October 2009
A student who was failed part way through an NHS-funded, 3-year nursing diploma at City University, London, and then embarked on a similar course at Thames Valley University, has been sentenced to 9 months’ imprisonment for fraud and faces deportation.
19 October 2009
A GP practice manager has been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for 2 years for the theft of over £56,000 from her employers (Derby Crown Court, Friday 16 October).
12 October 2009
A medical locum who used a false visa stamp to obtain work as a cardiology technician at Boston Pilgrim Hospital has been sentenced to 16 months imprisonment at Nottingham Crown Court following an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
02 October 2009
We have introduced a new NHS Pension Choice Opt-In Form which will replace the Retirees Declaration Form
29 September 2009
A Northampton nursing student who had no right to remain in the UK has received 14 months’ imprisonment for defrauding nearly £20,000 from the NHS, after an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
28 September 2009
A practice manager who stole £70,000 from his employers was sentenced today to 15 months’ imprisonment at Truro Crown Court, after an investigation supported by the NHS Counter Fraud Service (Friday, 25th September 2009).
17 September 2009
The presentation used for the annual public meeting held on the 16 September 2009 available here
16 September 2009
This note provides information to Independent Financial Advisers about changes that NHS Pensions is introducing when they request multiple estimates on behalf of their clients.
11 September 2009
A nurse was sentenced to 52 weeks imprisonment suspended for 2 years for defrauding the NHS over a four year period of approximately £80,000.
04 September 2009
Members of the public are invited to attend a meeting of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) on Wednesday 16 September 2009 at 4pm in the Board Room, Bridge House, 152 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6SN.
01 September 2009
The guidance document "An Introduction to Part IX of the Drug Tariff" has been updated and the new version can be found here.
27 August 2009
A senior NHS executive who was sacked and jailed for four counts of forgery, after being investigated by the NHS Counter Fraud Service (NHS CFS), was excluded from the register of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) yesterday.
26 August 2009
The latest edition of the Prescribing Review, "April - June 2009 Antipsychotic drugs", is now available.
26 August 2009
Following earlier technical problems NHS Prescription Services' online information reports such as ePACT, ePFIP and payment schedules are now available.
26 August 2009
The latest edition of the PCT discussion document "August 2009 Antipsychotic drugs" is now available.
26 August 2009
NHS Student Bursaries would like to reassure any students who have recently sent in applications for bursaries for 2009/10 academic year that we are processing applications as normal.
17 August 2009
Paul Rich and David Hulf have been re-appointed to their roles on the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Board as Chair and Non Executive Director respectively.
13 August 2009
1st Newsletter clarifying NHS Dental Services arrangements for NHS Wales reorganisation
05 August 2009
Nurses, doctors, ambulance crews and other NHS staff in Suffolk who are assaulted or abused can expect enhanced support from the authorities thanks to the signing today of an innovative three-way agreement designed to help reduce the problem.
04 August 2009
This is to let EHIC and Help with Health Costs customers know that following the update on the 24 July that our call centre service has returned to normal.
03 August 2009
Contractors should note the following changes to the August edition of the Drug Tariff
31 July 2009
Following a commitment made by the Health Secretary, the Department of Health announced in May 2009 that 30,000 NHS lone workers will receive personal security alarms.
24 July 2009
At the request of the Department of Health we have diverted some of our call centre staff to the national pandemic flu service.
24 July 2009
A mental health and learning disabilities worker who used false documents to get a job at Surrey & Borders Partnership Foundation Trust has been jailed for six months, after pleading guilty to all charges (Guildford Crown Court, 23rd July, 2009).
22 July 2009
A former head of orthotics for Nottingham has received a suspended 12 months’ prison sentence for defrauding the NHS of over £21,000, at Nottingham Crown Court (21st July 2009). He must also do 150 hours of unpaid work.
17 July 2009
The manager of a Watford recruitment agency for locum chiropodists and podiatrists was today sentenced to 5 months in prison for defrauding Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust of over £26,000, following an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
16 June 2009
A number of changes are being made to ePACT following the review of Toolkit indicators which was carried out by the Prescribing Support Unit at the Information Centre.
16 June 2009
The ‘Liquid Specials’ tag in ePACT has been re-named ‘Special order products’ to reflect additional presentations which have been added which include creams, ointments, tablets etc.
08 June 2009
The Department of Health has changed the consultation and effective date arrangements for the NHS Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions (Amendment) Regulations 2009.
04 June 2009
NHS Prescription Services has launched a new online, interactive quiz to help dispensing contractors improve their knowledge on whether to submit their prescription forms as exempt or chargeable.
02 June 2009
The contribution of the public and healthcare workers in the fight against fraud and corruption is commended by Managing Director of NHS Counter Fraud, Dermid McCausland in an online broadcast at www.nhscounterfraud.nhs.uk to launch Fraud Awareness Month
28 May 2009
NHS Prescription Services’ West Bromwich prescription processing office will close in July this year.
22 May 2009
This note provides an update to members who have requested a transfer of benefits and may be experiencing delays.
22 May 2009
Following a change to legislation on 3rd April 2009
22 May 2009
A woman who pretended to be Dutch to get a university nursing place and over £36,000 in NHS student bursaries was today sentenced to a total of 12 months’ imprisonment for fraud at Harrow Crown Court (22nd May).
22 May 2009
This note provides a update to any members who are awaiting service information
21 May 2009
NHS Prescription Services announced today that it will publish the following month’s electronic NHS England and Wales Drug Tariff three working days early.
19 May 2009
A man who used a forged document to obtain an NHS bursary and train as a mental health nurse has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for fraud at Sheffield Crown Court (18 May 2009) after a joint investigation by NHS Counter Fraud.
19 May 2009
A registered learning disabilities nurse, Dzikamai Mussett Mhakayakora, has been jailed for nine months for fraud after being investigated by NHS Counter Fraud and the UK Border Agency (UKBA), at Chelmsford Crown Court (18th May).
15 May 2009
An NHS substance misuse nurse who worked illegally in Chelmsford prison has been sentenced to a total of one year’s imprisonment (13 May Chelmsford Crown Court) following an investigation by NHS Counter Fraud and the UK Border Agency.
08 May 2009
Essex dentist Geoffrey O’Sullivan was sentenced to four months imprisonment yesterday at Chelmsford Crown Court, charged with defrauding the NHS of £10,000 through false accounting following an investigation by NHS Counter Fraud (NHS CF).
01 May 2009
The Information Centre for Health and Social Care have published the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) for 2008 and a new service to allow Primary Care Trust Prescribing Data to be viewed on their website.
01 May 2009
NHS Prescription Services quarterly newsletter is out now
23 April 2009
Philip Andrew Hunt, former practice manager of a GP surgery in Carmarthenshire, was sentenced to two years imprisonment for defrauding the NHS to obtain a powerful painkilling drug - following an investigation supported by NHS Counter Fraud.
23 April 2009
A Department of Health (DH) staff member and a Preston shopkeeper, who conspired to defraud the DH of nearly £50,000 by abusing the Welfare Food Scheme, have received prison sentences at Leeds Crown Court (22 April).
03 April 2009
A Zimbabwean man living illegally in the UK for the past five years was today sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment for each of eight offences, to run concurrently, following an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service (Guildford Crown Court).
27 March 2009
The following changes to the Dental Practitioners' Formulary came into force on 1 March 2009....
25 March 2009
Leading pharmacist Dr Hooman Ghalamkari MBE received a nine-month jail sentence today at Worcester Crown Court (25th March), after an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS).
17 March 2009
Leading pharmacist Dr Hooman Ghalamkari MBE is due to be sentenced this Wednesday at Worcester Crown Court (18th March), after an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS).
09 March 2009
A man from Rixton has been sentenced to 16 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months after pleading guilty to assaulting a student nurse when he was an inpatient at Warrington Hospital in December 2008.
06 March 2009
The Department of Health have announced the price changes for Category M which will apply to prescriptions dispensed from the 1st April 2009.
06 March 2009
The order number for the B Braun Urimed night drainage bag...
05 March 2009
This note provides an update to members who have requested information about buying Added Year and may be experiencing delays.
05 March 2009
An error has been discovered, which will affect a small percentage of pensioners in all Public Sector Pension Schemes, including current pensioners of the NHS Pension Scheme.
03 March 2009
The Department of Health have announced the price changes for Category M which will apply to prescriptions dispensed from the 1st April 2009.
03 March 2009
The following items appear in the March 2009 edition of the Drug Tariff with an incorrect price of 249p instead of 7470p for a pack of 30...
03 March 2009
The latest edition of the Prescribing Review, "October-December 2008 Drugs used for Eczema" is now available.
03 March 2009
The latest edition of the PCT discussion document "February 2009 Atopic Eczema -Prescribing guidance and discussion points" is now available
25 February 2009
A review of Practice Learning Opportunity (PLO) funding, was recently undertaken. As as result of that review, a total PLO contribution of £1,725 will be payable for the duration of the course, regardless of the students' study pattern.
19 February 2009
A health care assistant, Maria Jimenez, received an 18 month supervision order today at Nottingham Crown Court for defrauding the NHS by altering her timesheets, following an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
18 February 2009
A Zimbabwean man living illegally in the UK for the past five years has been found guilty of frauds worth over £100,000 at Guildford Crown Court today following an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
17 February 2009
This note provides an update for members who have requested an estimate/A-Day Valuation Request
13 February 2009
The February 2009 published Drug Tariff does not include Budesonide 200micrograms/dose inhaler [200 dose] as a part VIII generic category C product based upon Pulmicort ®....
12 February 2009
Head of Security Management, Richard Hampton, will be speaking at the NHS Workforce Health and Wellbeing conference at the Earls Court Conference Centre in London on 24th March 2009.
06 February 2009
Contractors should note the following changes to products listed in Part IX of the Drug Tariff.
04 February 2009
Two men who ran a private decompression chamber designed to treat potentially fatal cases of “the bends” in divers and their accomplice were sentenced today for conspiring to defraud the NHS of £250,000.
02 February 2009
The February edition of Impact our quarterly newsletter is out now.
30 January 2009
A printing error has occurred within the February 2009 edition of the Drug Tariff. Pages i and ii of the Preface have been omitted, these are available in the Preface to the electronic Drug Tariff.
20 January 2009
A Coventry woman received a 61 week custodial sentence at Coventry Crown Court this week (15 January 2009) for using false identities to obtain drugs from a pharmacy in Gloucestershire.
20 January 2009
Pharmacist Mr Subhash K Mehta has been sentenced to 12 months in prison and given a £45,000 confiscation order at Southwark Crown Court (19 January 2009) following an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS).
20 January 2009
From today, cancer patients can pre-apply for a certificate which will entitle them to free NHS prescriptions from 1 April 2009.
16 January 2009
Liverpool dentist Robert Nolan was today sentenced to twenty custodial sentences of 36 weeks each to be served concurrently, suspended for 18 months, after being found guilty of multiple counts of fraudulently claiming money from the NHS.
09 January 2009
The NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (NHS CFSMS) is pleased to announce that a revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed with the Audit Commission.
08 January 2009
HR manager Attah Okoji was today handed a six-month suspended jail sentence at Newcastle Crown Court for lying about his criminal convictions to get a job in England’s largest mental health trust – the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Trust.
06 January 2009
A former Director of Planning and Service Modernisation at NHS Stoke on Trent has been sentenced to 12 weeks in custody after lying on his CV about his professional qualifications.
05 January 2009
A doctor who was working for a drug and alcohol advice service today pleaded guilty at Watford Magistrates’ Court to seven counts of forgery after falsifying prescription claims.
23 December 2008
The name of the product ‘Sharpsbin' was changed to ‘Sharpsguard' over a year ago.
16 December 2008
We will be reviewing the awards of all students paid the Childcare Allowance in the period 1 September 2008 to 2 January 2009.
11 December 2008
A Somerset man who assaulted two NHS staff causing them physical injury was today sentenced for three counts of common assault at Taunton Crown Court.
09 December 2008
The Department of Health have announced the price changes for Category M which will apply to prescriptions dispensed from the 1st January 2009.
01 December 2008
NHSBSA non executive director is re-appointed to the Board
28 November 2008
The recent payment awarded by the Department of Health to Essential Small Pharmacies will be shown on the Schedule of Contractor Payments..
26 November 2008
Contractors should note that the hard copy of the November edition of Impact has a mistake on page 3. The charge status should read E A, not C as published.
24 November 2008
NHS Prescription Services will be holding more open days in 2009 for dispensing contractors.
21 November 2008
On 19 November 2008, the Department of Health started a consultation on the draft NHS Pension Scheme and Injury Benefits (Amendment) Regulations 2009. This consultation will last until 11 February 2009.
05 November 2008
Official figures released today by the NHS Security Management Service (SMS) show that there were 55,993 reported physical assaults against NHS staff in England 2007/8 – a rise of 284 from last year’s figure of 55,709.
01 November 2008
Improving staff safety and security in NHS Trusts across England will be the focus of this year’s Security Awareness Month (SAM) in November.
31 October 2008
A PDF version of the latest edition of our quarterly newsletter for pharmacy and other dispensing contractors is available online.
31 October 2008
Three Non Executive Directors have been re-appointed to the NHSBSA Board for a second term.
02 October 2008
An Ipswich man was compulsorily committed to hospital for treatment until his doctor considers him fit for release at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday, after pleading guilty to causing Actual Bodily Harm when he assaulted a nurse
01 October 2008
An annual review of how all divisions of the NHSBSA have been performing 2007 to 2008
30 September 2008
Following the what's new item on 11 August, the NHSBSA PPD would like to remind all of it's dispensing contractor customers..
25 September 2008
Please note the following three products have been recalculated..
19 September 2008
NHS Bursaries are paid in monthly instalments. New students will normally get their first bursary instalment within 10 working days of starting training and subsequent payments on the third Friday in each month..
15 September 2008
The National Prescribing Centre (NPC) has published a second edition of "Dispensing with Repeats. A practical guide to Repeat Dispensing."..
02 September 2008
Members of the public are invited to attend a meeting of the NHS Business Services Authority.
01 September 2008
The NHSBSA Annual Review 2007/2008 is now available
01 September 2008
The following products have been deleted from Part IXA of the Drug Tariff for August 08, however..
26 August 2008
The Department of Health and PSNC have agreed compensation arrangements for any error due to NHSBSA PPD system failure and as a concession for contractors who may not have been aware of flaws in their own business processes for checking declarations..
22 August 2008
The latest edition of the Prescribing Review (Apr - Jun 2008 Drugs Used for Osteoporosis) is now available on the Index of PPD Publications page
11 August 2008
As part of our programme to bring in our new processing system we are consolidating all of our processing sites into three regional ones based in the North East (Newcastle), North West (Middlebrook) and Yorkshire (Wakefield)..
06 August 2008
A NEW video guide has been launched online to help pharmacists find out more about the new processing technology being used to pay them correctly.
22 July 2008
One additional item Neupro transdermal patches treatment initiation pack, is to be processed as Discount Not Deducted from 1st August. This will not appear in the printed list until the September Drug Tariff.
18 July 2008
12 additional items are to be processed as Discount Not Deducted from 1st August. These will not appear in the printed list until the September Drug Tariff.
16 July 2008
Check our PPD exhibitions area to find out what events we'll be at or how you can come on one our open days.
08 July 2008
As a result of the introduction of new prescription pricing technology in early 2007 by the Prescription Pricing Division, the Capacity Improvement Programme (CIP) there has been a substantial increase in “switching” of prescriptions..
01 July 2008
Some branded drugs are available from more than one manufacturer, but are still licensed under the same name.
01 July 2008
Following the interest in our open days, the NHSBSA PPD is offering more dates from August to November..
20 June 2008
These offices are now closed as of today 20 June.
05 June 2008
Read our special edition of Impact which focuses on our new processing technology. Hard copies have been sent out.
27 May 2008
The latest edition of the Prescribing Review (Prescribing of drugs affecting the renin-angiotensin system) is now available on the Index of PPD Publications page.
22 May 2008
As part of our programme to bring in our new processing system we are consolidating our existing nine processing sites into three regional sites based in the North East (Newcastle), North West (Horwich) and Yorkshire (Wakefield).
06 May 2008
Read our special edition of Impact which focuses on our new processing technology.
19 March 2008
From 1st April 2008, following a change to the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Amendment (No.3) Regulations 2007 (for England only).
07 March 2008
The information you send us on this form will be used to assess the impact of changes in PPD processes in checking exemption declarations on the number of forms that are switched and will inform negotiations between the PSNC and the Department of Health..
21 February 2008
The latest edition of the Prescribing Review (Oct - Dec 2007 Drugs Used in Mental Health) is now available on the Index of PPD Publications page.
30 November 2007
Pharmaceutical companies to provide product information electronically for prescription from NHS systems
19 November 2007
The latest edition of the Prescribing Review (Jul - Sep 2007 Drugs used in Asthma and COPD) is now available on the Index of PPD Publications page.
19 October 2007
Dispensing contractors are now required to submit original Private Controlled Drug Prescription for schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs.
13 September 2007
Medical Students who are eligible for NHS Bursary support in 2008/09 and who choose to undertake an intercalation year at either the same or a different university should be aware that the maximum tuition fee contribution that can be met..
21 August 2007
Following the Department of Health (DH) and NHS Connecting for Health (NHS CFH) invitation for Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to express an interest in becoming initial implementers for Release 2 of the Electronic Prescription Service, over one third..
24 January 2007
This guidance provides further clarification on dispensing endorsements for FP10MDA forms.
01 April 2006
The NHS Business Services Authority was formally established as the responsible body for the services and activities described in this website on 1 April 2006.
31 March 2006
This message is to advise Students as Data Subjects that the NHS Pensions Agency ceases to exist from close of play on the on the 31st March 2006 and is now a division of a new organisation, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). However..