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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the amount of fraud in the NHS; and what research his Department has commissioned to estimate the level of unidentified fraud in the NHS. [144591] Mr. Hutton: The National Health Service Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (NHS CFSMS) has an on-going programme of highly accurate risk measurement exercises--accurate to plus or minus 1 per cent.--designed to reveal levels of losses and, through repeated exercises, reductions in such losses, where they take place. Phase one of these exercises concentrated on patient fraud. The tables show the results. £ million _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year data selected Fraud losses Pharmaceutical patient fraud 1998-99 117 1999-2000 69 Dental patient fraud 1999-2000 40.3 2000-01 30 Optical patient fraud 1999-2000 13.25 2001-02 10.17 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. A statistically valid sample of those prescriptions prescribed during March 2003 has been taken and a further measurement exercise has been completed. Further reductions in pharmaceutical patient fraud are anticipated and figures will be produced later this month. Phase two of the programme is now focussing on contractor fraud within the NHS. As the measurement programme extends, it will enable NHS CFSMS to accurately assess the totality of NHS fraud. Total patient fraud losses have reduced from approximately £170 million to £109.17 million per year, a reduction of 36 per cent. since the creation of NHS CFSin 1998. Fraud in the NHS is not acceptable. It deprives the NHS of the resources needed for the delivery of patient care and the continuing improvement of frontline services.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

144591; 415 c1121-2W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Contracts Fraud NHS Patients Prescriptions Research

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk