Fraud

Devon Partnership NHS Trust is committed to reducing the level of fraud, bribery and corruption within the NHS to increase the resources available for providing better patient care. Our Fraud, Bribery and Corruption policy explains how staff should conduct themselves whilst working for Devon Partnership NHS Trust. It also raises awareness of fraud, bribery and corruption offences as well as explaining what reporting lines are available for staff who wish to report suspicions of illicit activity.

This policy provides direction and help to employees who may identify suspected fraud, bribery or corruption. It provides a framework for responding to suspicions.  It is not intended to provide a comprehensive approach to preventing and detecting fraud, bribery and corruption.

NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) leads on a wide range of work to protect NHS staff and resources from crime. It has national responsibility for tackling issues such as fraud, bribery, corruption and theft.

National Fraud Initiative (NFI) privacy notice

Devon Partnership NHS Trust (DPT) is required by law to protect the public funds it administers. We may share information provided to us with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud.

Devon Partnership NHS Trust is a mandatory participant of the  Cabinet Office's National Fraud Initiative  (NFI) which is a data matching exercise undertaken by the Cabinet Office to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets of data to the Cabinet Office for each exercise.

Data matching involves comparing sets of data, such as payroll of a body against other records held by the same or another body to see how far they match. This is usually personal information and trust creditors' data. The data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified. Where a match is found it may indicate that there is an inconsistency which requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out.

The use of data by the Cabinet Office in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority under Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

Data matching by the Cabinet Office is subject to a  Code of Practice. Should you wish to know more information on this  Fair Processing Notice please see the more detailed full text. View further information on the  Cabinet Office's legal powers  and the reasons why it matches particular information. 

For further information on data matching at Devon Partnership NHS Trust contact:

Jazmine Noot
Local Counter Fraud Specialist
jazmine.noot@nhs.net
07502 877486

Bribery Act 2010

The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011 with the aim to tackle bribery and corruption in both the public and private sectors. Devon Partnership NHS Trust welcomes the Act and the Board of Directors is committed to compliance with the Act.

One of the six principles of the Act demands that there is top level commitment in the organisation to the prevention of bribery. To this end, there is a clearly identified executive director lead on behalf of the Board of Directors - the Director of Finance.

As an NHS organisation we follow good NHS business practice and have robust controls in place to prevent bribery. However, as a Trust, we cannot afford to be complacent and it is important that all our employees, contractors, and agents, comply with Trust policies and procedures, particularly with regard to procurement, sponsorship, gifts/hospitality and declaring interests.

It is essential that everyone working for, or on behalf of, the Trust, is aware of the standards of behaviour expected of them. These standards are enshrined in Trust policy, setting out the ethics, professional conduct, and probity standards that are expected of all Trust employees in relation to their standards of business conduct.

All genuine suspicions of fraud and corruption can also be reported to the NHS Fraud and Corruption Reporting Line on freephone 0800 028 40 60, in strict confidence.