The NHS lost almost £7.5 billion to fraud over the last six years, while the NHS Counter Fraud Authority achieved only half its target last year, according to Labour Party analysis.
Examples of fraud detected included a criminal gang who diverted payments of £1.2 million from separate NHS trusts and a group who stole £300,000 worth of medical supplies then sold them back to the service.
Labour’s analysis, based on the Department of Health and Social Care’s recently published annual accounts, claimed the money lost over six years could pay the salaries of 8,000 GPs and 17,000 nurses.
In the year 2020/21 the NHS lost around £1.2 billion to fraud, bribery and corruption which is an increase of £54 million on the previous year.
For the five years previous, health minister Edward Argar revealed last year that the NHS lost £6.16 billion to fraud.
Last year the NHS Counter Fraud Authority achieved £75 million in reduction of fraud losses, which is only half of its £149 million target, and £53 million less than the amount recovered in 2019/20.
Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘If the Tories weren’t so relaxed about criminals walking off with billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, they could afford to train the doctors and nurses the NHS needs.
‘Labour will set up an Office of Value for Money, to make sure that every penny of taxpayers’ money is spent wisely.’
the real fraud is the overpaid penpushers and hangers-on at the top of the system who contribute nothing at all to patient care, and justify their existence by sending out mountains of drivel and edicts for those who are doing the work to ruminate on !
send the whole lot down the jobcentre.