Health chiefs consider prescription fraud clamp down

Health Service chiefs are considering introducing fixed penalty charges to combat the multi-pound prescription fraud in Northern Ireland.

The proposal is being taken into account by the Eastern Health and Social Services Board (EHSSB) following an external audit which showed a possible prescription fraud of £4.7 million.

The board meeting of EHSSB on Tuesday August 14 heard that external auditors, accountancy firm KPMG who examine the annual accounts of Northern Ireland's other three health boards, had similar concerns about the scale of potential prescription fraud.

The potential loss of some £4.7 million is enough to clear its hospital waiting lists in around two years. It could alternatively pay for around 800 heart operations or 1,500 hip replacements.

EHSSP assistant director of finance, Mr Sam Snodden, said that while the potential loss was some £1.1m less than that of the previous year, the situation was still highly unsatisfactory.

Mr Snodden said: “The reality is that many people who wrongly claim free prescriptions are robbing the wider health service of funds that could pay for a wide range of care services.”

“We estimate the potential loss could be enough to clear our hospital waiting lists within two years, and we are maintaining our efforts to prevent such fraud and to bring offenders before the courts.”

At its meeting, the Board heard that significant progress has been made to counter prescription and other types of fraud. These measures have included the introduction of new checks introduced at pharmacies, which require people to provide proof of their entitlement to free prescriptions.

On a wider front, work is also being undertaken in tandem with the Social Security Agency on a new computerised system that will validate claims for free prescriptions. Fixed penalty charges are also under consideration for people convicted of making false claims for free prescriptions.

However, Mr Snodden stressed that people legitimately entitled to free prescriptions had nothing to fear.

“We fully recognise that the majority of people are either entitled to a free prescription or rightly pay for their medication. Nevertheless, we cannot tolerate deliberate fraud which deprives our services of funds, and will continue with our efforts to stamp this out.”(AMcE)