Fraud Squad NHS airs on BBC One

NHS counter fraud professionals will take centre stage next week as a new TV documentary called 'Fraud Squad NHS' is shown on BBC One.

The programme follows the work of NHS investigators as they track down the fraudsters who target the NHS.

The five-part series air every day from Monday 4 February to Friday 8 February at 9:15am. Each episode will then be available for one month on the BBC iPlayer.

The documentary will feature a selection of recent, successful prosecutions of NHS fraud. These are cases led by investigators who now work for the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA), in Wales and Scotland, and a number of Local Counter Fraud Specialists.

The NHSCFA’s Forensic Computing Unit also appears in the programme.

It is hoped that thje BBC programme will contribute to increasing awareness among the public about fraud in the NHS and the work being done to tackle it, particularly investigations at a local and national level.

The NHS Counter Fraud Authority is responsible for gathering intelligence on fraud, bribery and corruption, and, wherever possible, preventing these crimes before they happen.

Gavin Heaton, investigator for the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, writes in the Telegraph:

"It is still surprising to see how senior staff members put their careers in jeopardy for relatively small amounts of money. Recently, one chief executive of a trust was prosecuted for stealing £11,000 by awarding a contract to her husband and trying to cover up that the work wasn’t delivered. She lost her job and was convicted of criminal offences."