At the NHSBSA, we have a duty to tackle fraud, bribery, corruption and loss to the NHS across all of our services.
Supported by our dedicated Loss and Fraud Prevention (LFP) team, we are committed to protecting public funds and to remove opportunities for loss and fraud within the NHS.
How to report suspected NHS fraud, bribery, or corruption
Any suspicions you have concerning fraud, bribery or corruption can be reported in confidence in one of the following ways:
Reporting your suspicions to the NHSBSA LFP team
Email our LFP team at lcfs@nhsbsa.nhs.uk, providing as much detail as possible for our team to investigate.
All information is treated in confidence. You will be updated on the outcome, if requested. If your suspicion does not fall within our remit to investigate, we will send it to the relevant agency for their consideration and we will let you know where we have sent it.
You should keep or copy any document or evidence that arouses your suspicions.
Do not confront the individual with your suspicions or try to investigate your suspicions yourself.
Reporting your suspicions through the NHSBSA Freedom to Speak Up (whistleblowing) process
You can raise your concerns through our Freedom to Speak Up process.
You can do this by:
- email to NHSBSA’s Whistleblowing lead at whistleblowing@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
- telephone: 0191 203 5118 (answer machine facility)
Reporting your suspicions to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority
The NHS Counter Fraud Authority has partnered with Crimestoppers to provide a 24-hour fraud reporting hotline. You can speak to an experienced call handler in confidence on 0800 028 4060.
You can also use the online service at the Counter Fraud Authority website.
Reporting your suspicions to NHS England (NHSE)
NHS England Counter Fraud team investigate most primary care cases. To make a referral to NHSE, email the NHSE counter fraud team at england.counter-fraud@nhs.net.
This includes patient fraud (non-payment of NHS prescription charges and NHS dental treatment, for example), and pharmaceutical or dental contractor fraud (a dentist claiming for private or 'ghost' patients, for example).
If you have any queries regarding reporting any suspicion of fraud, bribery or corruption, email the LFP team at lcfs@nhsbsa.nhs.uk.
Further information
Statement from our Executive Director of Finance, Commercial and Estates, Andrew McKinley:
The NHSBSA Loss and Fraud Prevention team work to the 6 principles of the Bribery Act to ensure adequate procedures are in place.
However, the success of the NHSBSA’s anti-bribery measures is dependent on all NHSBSA staff, including non-executives, contractors and agency staff, assisting in detecting and reporting bribery concerns. I encourage all employees to report their suspicions of bribery either internally or externally and ensure they complete the mandatory eLearning module on fraud, bribery, and corruption.
Statement from our Chief Executive, Michael Brodie:
The NHSBSA is committed to all aspects of good governance. In short, we believe that as an organisation and as individuals we should always focus on doing the right thing and doing things right. This includes ensuring robust controls are implemented across the organisation to prevent fraud, bribery, and corruption and maintain a zero-tolerance approach.
We are committed to eliminating fraud and corruption within the NHS in order to free up public money for better patient care, and as an organisation we have an active workplan, supported by our Loss and Fraud Prevention team, to do just this.
However, we cannot afford to be complacent and under no circumstances is the giving, offering and/or receiving a bribe acceptable.
All staff are required to complete a mandatory eLearning module and our Loss and Fraud Prevention team deliver fraud, bribery, and corruption awareness sessions every year, as well as tailored sessions to staff in higher risk areas such as Commercial, Estates and Finance. It is essential that everyone working for, or on behalf of, the NHSBSA is aware of the standards of behaviour expected of them and is aware of the reporting routes should they have a concern.
On behalf of the NHSBSA, I would like to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the NHSBSA is free from fraud, corruption, and bribery, and that all staff are aware of their responsibilities in relation to the prevention, detection, and reporting of suspected incidents of fraud, bribery, and corruption.