Prescribed person 2024-25

Introduction

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 gives legal protection to employees against being dismissed or penalised by their employers as a result of disclosing information which is considered to be in the public interest. The NHSCFA is a ‘prescribed person’ as defined under the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014.

As such, individuals working outside the NHSCFA, but in the healthcare sector, may contact the NHSCFA if they have any concerns in relation to fraud, corruption or other unlawful activity in relation to the health service in England. Individuals can report to the NHSCFA in a variety of ways including using our online fraud and corruption reporting form and calling our Fraud and Corruption Reporting Line powered by Crimestoppers.

Since April 2017, all ‘Prescribed Persons’ are required to report in writing annually on workers (whistleblowing) disclosures they have received. The report must be published within six months of the end of the reporting period.

The report must contain, without including any information in the report that would identify a worker who has made a disclosure of information, or an employer or other person in respect of whom a disclosure of information has been made -

1. the number of workers’ disclosures received during the reporting period that the relevant prescribed person reasonably believes are –
   1. qualifying disclosures within the meaning of section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996; and
   2. which fall within the matters in respect of which that person is so prescribed;
2. the number of those disclosures in relation to which the relevant prescribed person decided during the reporting period to take further action;
3. A summary of:
   1. the action that the relevant prescribed person has taken during the reporting period in respect of the workers’ disclosures; and
   2. how workers’ disclosures have impacted on the relevant prescribed person’s ability to perform its functions and meet its objectives during the reporting period;
4. an explanation of the functions and objectives of the relevant prescribed person.

From 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, the NHSCFA received 728 reports where the source had stated they were making a disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. All these reports have been actioned.

211 reports were closed with No Further Action and progressed no further.

All the remaining 517 reports were disseminated to another governing body, which also include disseminations to relevant LCFS’s for further lines of enquiry.

Of the 220 reports disseminated out to a Local Counter Fraud Specialist,

• 110 have become investigations on the case management system.
• 56 of these investigations have been closed with no offences identified.
• 13 investigations have been closed with offences identified and
• 41 investigations remain open.

Of the 211 reports closed with No Further Action and progressed no further:

• 114 of these reports relate to patient issues with the majority concerning prescription frauds / altering of prescriptions and prescription exemptions. These are not pursued by the NHSCFA as they are received in addition to the police or for prescription exemptions which are dealt with by NHS Business Services Authority.

The remaining 97 reports relate to all other Taxonomy fraud categories. They have been marked as No Further Action either: -

• Due to a lack of information available to establish what the allegation relates to or what offence had been committed and it has not been possible contact the source to clarify this.
• The allegation has already been disseminated to all of the relevant authorities and further action by NHSCFA is not required.

In November 2024 the new online fraud reporting tool was launched. Of the 728 reports received, 370 were from the new online report and 358 were from the old online reporting tool. This would indicate that the new form displays the question relating to making a PIDA disclosure in a way that is easier for users to understand.

The processing of such disclosure’s forms part of the NHSCFA’s “business as usual” activities, consequently impacting on the NHSCFA’s ability to perform its functions and meet its objectives during the reporting period was negligible.

Explanation of the functions and objectives of the relevant prescribed person

The NHSCFA is a Special Health Authority focused entirely on counter fraud work, independent from other NHS bodies and directly accountable to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Our mission is to lead the fight against fraud affecting the NHS and wider health service and protect vital resources intended for patient care.

The NHSCFA’s main objectives for 2020-2025 are to:

• Lead and influence the NHS to find, prevent and reduce fraud, recovering losses and putting money back into patient care
• Work with partners to reduce fraud loss in the NHS
• Support and empower our people to be the best in their roles and feel valued
• Effectively use our resources, identify and pursue opportunities for growth and innovation and reduce our operating costs