Performance overview
This overview draws together the information presented below. As 2026 marks the conclusion of the current three-year strategic reporting period, it reflects both our cumulative performance against strategic targets and our achievements during this reporting year.
Messages from the Chair and Chief Executive open the section, providing reflections on progress over the past 12 months and setting out priorities for the next strategic period. Further detail on our achievements, and the impacts and outcomes delivered, is provided in the performance analysis section.
Background and role of NHSCFA
We are a special health authority directly accountable to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). We are held to account for the delivery of our 2023 to 2026 Strategy by our departmental sponsor, the DHSC Anti-Fraud unit (DHSC AFU).
We are responsible for preventing, detecting and investigating fraud, corruption or other unlawful activities, carried out against or otherwise affecting the NHS and the wider health sector in England.
Statutory Instrument 2017 No 958 sets out the establishment and constitution of the organisation. Schedule 2, parts 1 and 2, detail the requirements for specific roles which make up our Board. To find out more about the role of the NHSCFA Board and its members, see the NHSCFA Board of Directors section on our website. We also provide specialist counter fraud support functions to the Welsh Government under section 83 of the Government of Wales Act 2006. See the NHS Counter Fraud Service Wales page for more details.
How the NHSCFA is organised
NHSCFA’s management team and Board are collectively responsible for setting the organisation’s culture and overseeing effective decision making. Further information on the Board, its committees and their respective responsibilities is set out in the Accountability Report. We welcomed Tom Hayhoe as our new Chair from 1 May 2026. Full dates on Non Executive Tenures are provided in the Accountability report.
Gaon Hart, Interim Chair
01/04/2025 to 31/07/2025 and 27/11/2025 to 30/04/2026
Dame Linda Pollard, Chair
01/08/2025 to 27/11/2025
Tom Hayhoe, Chair
from 01/05/2026
Angela Dragone, Non-Executive Director
Jon Hayes, Non-Executive Director
Alyson Coates, Non-Executive Director
Andrew Flanagan, Non-Executive Director
Alex Rothwell, Chief Executive Officer
Matthew Jordan-Boyd, Executive Director of Finance
and Corporate Resources
Finance, Technology Transformation and Corporate
Support, People and Workforce Development,
Corporate Affairs, Corporate Communications and
Workplace.
Tricia Morrison, Executive Director of Strategy,
Operations and Data Analytics
Intelligence and Fraud Prevention, Operational Services,
Strategic Fraud Prevention, Performance Projects and
Analytics, Operations and Fraud Hub.
NHSCFA vision and aims
Our priorities to support this vision are
Our 2023 to 2026 Strategy has now been completed, and we are now focusing on delivery of our ambitions for our next strategic cycle.
Our 2023 to 2026 Strategy described our objectives as four pillars; understand, prevent, respond and assure. These are support by two enabling pillars.
We supported our people to develop expertise to underpin and deliver counter fraud activity within the NHS.
We used our resources in an innovative and agile way to support and deliver counter fraud activity within the NHS.
NHSCFA operating model
Our operating model is set out below. We have continued to move to a more project focused approach with representatives from different teams contributing specialist areas of expertise as required.
Where delivery is not driven by project deliverables we have continued to maintain delivery against agreed business plans. Both approaches are now held to account via executive assurance panels which replaced the former performance and assurance panels in the autumn.
The new NHSCFA Strategy, which will be aligned to the NHS 10 Year Plan and the DHSC Counter Fraud Strategy, will be underpinned by a new delivery model. The consultation on this will commence mid-year in 2026 to 2027 with implementation due to complete in 2027 to 2028.