Dentists who invent patients and bill the NHS for work that was never done are fuelling a health service fraud bill of more than £1 billion a year, health officials have warned. The head of the newly formed NHS Counter Fraud Authority said such actions along with false claims by patients, were “despicable,” diverting vital funds from front line care.
The estimates - the first to assess the scale of losses across the health service - show that the sums could have paid for more than 40,000 staff nurses or 5,000 ambulances.
The authority which was launched recently, has promised to do more to crack down on fraud, and vowed to investigate “without fear or favour” to protect the health service. This follows warnings of a steep drop in successful prosecutions, with just 91 achieved in 2015-16 compared with 393 in 2010-11.
The new figures show fraud by dentists was estimated at £121 million, including around £70 million in work which had never been carried out.
Among GPs, fraud was estimated to cost £81 million, while £91 million was falsely taken in NHS payroll and identity fraud. A further £397 million a year was falsely claimed by patients for exemptions for dental fees or prescription charges.
The crackdown was launched amid calls for extra funding for the health service. The Health Secretary has indicated that he is seeking extra funds for the NHS in the forthcoming budget, but that any boost is likely to be conditional on making more efficient use of resources.
