Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland fighting fraud against the National Health Service (NHS)
By Theresa Fyfe, Director, RCN Scotland
RCN Scotland has always supported Scottish Government initiatives to protect the NHS from fraud. The RCN promotes the concept that all nursing staff working in the NHS in Scotland have a shared legal and moral obligation to counter NHS fraud. Fraudulent activities are unacceptable, unjustifiable and are a misuse of public money.
RCN Scotland was particularly pleased to work with NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services (NHSS CFS) on the development of a counter fraud charter. The two organisations share a commitment to zero tolerance on fraud and together signed a charter in January 2008, alongside Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.
By working jointly and in consultation with each other our two organisations aim to reduce fraud to an absolute minimum and keep it there. In doing so we will free up resources for patient care and maximise the public's confidence in the nursing profession. We are pursuing these aims in a variety of ways. We are actively sharing with NHSS CFS the responsibility for developing an anti-fraud culture within the nursing profession by creating and raising awareness to our members of counter fraud policies and procedures. NHSS CFS staff have been invited to speak to our members at seminars and other events. We are also ensuring, through compliance with suitable guidance, that there are fair, open and transparent processes for our members in relation to investigation of suspected fraud.
RCN Scotland's collaboration with NHSS CFS under the counter fraud charter has been a positive one. If a message could be conferred to participants at the EHFCN Annual conference and beyond, then it would be to urge bodies representing the nursing profession across Europe to consider agreeing similar charters of joint work with organisations in their region or country which tackle and investigate healthcare fraud.
The Royal College of Nursing Scotland has more than 37,000 members in Scotland. The College campaigns on issues of concern to nurses and patients, influences health policies and promotes excellence in nursing practice on behalf of their members.
The counter fraud charter between RCN Scotland and NHSS CFS can be read at
http://www.cfs.scot.nhs.uk/publications.
For more information about RCN Scotland, please see
http://www.rcn.org.uk/aboutus.scotland or contact Theresa Fyfe, at Theresa.Fyffe@rcn.org.uk or telephone +44 131 662 6131.
