Information requested

  1. Who commissioned the BBC Programme - Fraud Squad NHS, which as of today’s date you state on your twitter account is currently showing on BBC I Player until end of this month having previously been aired on BBC daytime and evening TV.
  2. Who paid for the programming, actor, presenter fees - overall cost of production and air time.
  3. Was the Department of Health and Social Care / Department of Health or any NHS body involved.
  4. Who authorised the programme and budget.
  5. Given the amount of Fraud reports your organisation and Local Counter Fraud Specialists action / investigate per year, can you please confirm the criteria used in selecting the cases which featured in each one of the 4 episodes.

NHSCFA response

  1. The BBC programme ‘Fraud Squad NHS’ was commissioned by the BBC (from an independent TV production company).
  2. NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) did not fund the programme. NHSCFA do not hold this information. Employees of NHSCFA who appeared on the programme were not paid (although they were entitled to a nominal £1 each under the contributor agreements).
  3. The Department of Health and Social Care was involved along with a number of other bodies including NHSCFA, the national NHS Counter Fraud Services in Wales and Scotland, local NHS counter fraud bodies and the defrauded NHS bodies that featured.
  4. The BBC
  5. This is primarily a question for the programme makers.

The criteria NHSCFA applied when suggesting case studies were:

  • Successful prosecutions for fraud against the NHS that have been sentenced in court.
  • Fairly recent cases.
  • Cases NHSCFA employees were involved in and therefore could explain with authority.
  • Cases that presented a range of fraud loss values, offender occupations, geographic location and diversity of offenders.
  • Cases with sufficient human interest to engage a TV audience.
  • Cases that support NHSCFA’s strategic objectives, raising awareness and understanding of NHS fraud, to increase