The 8th annual Fraud and Error conference was held on 21 February at the Park Plaza Victoria hotel in London. The NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) chief executive, Sue Frith, gave two presentations about "Establishing an effective framework for reporting fraud", and the organisation was also an exhibitor at the conference.
Counter fraud professionals from across the public sector spent the day exploring the fraud landscape, sharing experiences, and addressing concerns and possible solutions. For us at the NHSCFA it was a great opportunity to raise awareness of our work to tackle NHS fraud and to engage with fraud specialists from other sectors, such as education and finance.
Both Sue Frith’s presentations and our stand were well received and there were many queries and discussions about tackling fraud throughout the day.
Sue Frith said, "It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to speak at the Fraud and Error conference 2018. I presented to and facilitated discussion at a break out session and then gave a speech to all the delegates at the end of the day. Events like this really help with our engagement and collaborative working approach. Our team were kept very busy talking to delegates throughout the day. Overall a really successful day for our 'Spot it, Report it, Together we stop it' message."
There was a great deal of positive feedback from delegates, many of which were from our stakeholders, including the Cabinet Office, Department of Work and Pensions, the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Nick Chang, a Senior Fraud Prevention Officer at the NHSCFA, who also attended the conference, added: "I found the interchange of ideas around the topic of fraud and error with colleagues from across the sector very useful. I also found that we were engaged by organisations that I would not usually have come across, such as data analytics companies, which might prove useful in how we take forward our counter fraud activities in the future. Generally though I enjoyed the insight into what everyone was doing and the interaction."
Preparations are now underway for the NHSCFA's presence at the largest event in the health sector, the NHS Confederation conference taking place in Manchester on 12 and 13 June. The conference is a key annual event for leaders and influences from across the NHS and wider health sector, and we look forward to a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of NHS fraud and engage delegates in fighting it.