BACKGROUND: A dental associate – Ms T – contacts the advisory service at MDDUS suspecting systematic breaches of NHS regulations at the dental practice where she works. These include duplicate claiming of NHS fees and shortened treatment times to allow UDA targets to be met.
It is her opinion that her own conduct has been "by the book" and she has announced her intention to leave the practice. Ms T requests MDDUS advice to ensure she does not get caught up in any formal accusations of fraud.
ANALYSIS/OUTCOME: An MDDUS dental adviser responds by letter and advises that finding a new job would be a wise move. Given that Ms T’s conduct has been exemplary in terms of treatment delivery and claiming patterns there should be little risk of being caught up in any investigation undertaken by, for example, the BSA.
The adviser does suggest that, before departing the practice, Ms T should raise concerns regarding the apparent departures from the NHS regulations. Should there later be any accusation of turning a blind eye to these problems, Ms T would have an audit trail to demonstrate the apparent misclaiming was drawn to the particular attention of the practice owners. How these issues are then remediated would be a matter for the practice to address.
KEY POINTS
- Keep an adequate audit trail of your own practice to demonstrate compliance with NHS regulations.
- Report concerns over potential fraud to the practice owners and keep a record of your actions.
This page was correct at the time of publication. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.
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