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 that would identify a worker who has made a disclosure, or an employer or other person in respect of whom a disclosure has been made:
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the number of workers’ disclosures received during the reporting period that the prescribed person reasonably believes are:
- qualifying disclosures within the meaning of section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996; and
- within the matters for which that person is prescribed;
- the number of those disclosures in relation to which further action was taken during the reporting period;
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a summary of:
- the action taken during the reporting period in respect of those disclosures; and
- how the disclosures have impacted on the ability to perform functions and meet objectives;
- an explanation of the functions and objectives of the prescribed person.
From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, the NHSCFA received 1,668 reports where the source stated they were making a disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. At the time of writing, 1,624 of these reports have been actioned.
- 520 reports were closed with No Further Action and progressed no further.
The remaining 1,104 reports were disseminated to another governing body, including dissemination to Local Counter Fraud Specialists (LCFSs) for further lines of enquiry.
Of the 1,104 reports disseminated to a Local Counter Fraud Specialist:
- 249 became investigations on the case management system;
- 149 investigations were closed with no offences identified;
- 15 investigations were closed with offences identified;
- 85 investigations remain open.
Of the 520 reports closed with No Further Action:
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203 reports related to patient issues concerning:
- prescription frauds, altering of prescriptions, and prescription exemptions, which are managed by the police or NHS Business Services Authority; or
- patient registration issues, which are generally referred back to the source to contact the relevant body.
The remaining 317 reports related to other taxonomy fraud categories and were marked as No Further Action either because:
- there was insufficient information to establish the nature of the allegation and the source could not be contacted; or
- the allegation had already been disseminated to the relevant authorities and no further action by the NHSCFA was required.
Financial Year 2025/2026 is the first full year of using the new online reporting tool. Of the 1,668 disclosures received, 1,480 were submitted via the new tool, compared with 370 in the previous year.
This indicates that the new form presents the question relating to making a disclosure more clearly for users.
The processing of disclosures forms part of the NHSCFA’s business-as-usual activity. As a result, the impact on the organisation’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, protecting 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 returning money to patient care;
- work with partners to reduce fraud loss across the NHS;
- support and empower our people to be the best in their roles and feel valued;
- use our resources effectively, pursue opportunities for growth and innovation, and reduce operating costs.