Anger over free prescriptions fraud accusation
MAN FINED AFTER OFFICIAL BLUNDERS
A MAN has slammed blundering Government officials after he was accused of committing prescription fraud and fined £250.
John Hinds has been receiving benefits for 19 years and has been entitled to receive free prescriptions.
When he is collecting his medicine, John ticks a box saying he is on incomerelated employment support allowance.
But the 53-year-old was left shocked when he received two penalty charge notices from the NHS Business Authority (NHSBA) totalling £252 for claiming free prescriptions.
After appealing against the decision, he was told the fine was due to staff at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) advising the authority he wasn’t entitled to receive the prescriptions.
John was able to prove that he was by providing the necessary documentation.
Since then, he has contacted the DWP and NHS to make a complaint about the process.
He said: “I spoke to someone at DWP who explained the NHS only has access to certain parts of the system.
“There are certain times the system gets clogged, but she checked the dates of my charges and confirmed the system was OK.
“Someone is at fault and the DWP is blaming the NHS and the NHS is blaming the DWP.”
John, of Consett,county Durham, said the process had caused unnecessary stress.
“I feel I have suffered mental stress, defamation of character and expenses, costing more than £5 in postage,” he said.
Patients who are exempt from the £8.80 prescription charge have to show their exemption certificate or tick a box on the prescription form.
Random checks are carried out after the medicine or treatment has been dispensed in a bid to crack down on fraud, which costs the health authority £256m per year.
Headed by the NHS Business Authority, recent figures revealed 1.3 million people were fined for wrongly trying to claim free NHS prescriptions in 2019 but nearly a quarter – 303,000 – of those were wrongly accused of prescription fraud.
John’s ordeal has been put down to a mix-up between the NHS and the DWP.
Now The Grove Community and Residents Association, of which John is secretary, is calling for a public inquiry to take place in a bid to rectify issues with the process.
John said: “Our association believes this is a national scandal and is a total waste of public money.
“They need to rectify this system. Thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money is being wasted – it is ridiculous.”
A spokesperson for NHSBSA said: “On behalf of NHS England, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) checks claims at random in order to verify entitlement to free prescriptions.
“When we cannot find a match for an exemption, following the check against NHSBSA and DWP records, we contact the patient and ask them to confirm their entitlement to free treatment or pay the applicable charges if they are not entitled.
“These letters are sometimes issued where a patient’s exemption status cannot be verified during our data-matching process, for example, because the patient has moved or changed surname.
“In situations like this, when the patient contacts the NHSBSA and we verify their eligibility to free prescriptions, we cancel all charges and update their exemption record or advise them to contact their GP or relevant benefits organisation.
“In Mr Hinds’s case all charges were cancelled on receipt of evidence of a qualifying benefit.”
A Department for Work Pensions spokesman said: “We have already issued a letter to Mr Hinds confirming the details of his benefit entitlement, which can be used to support his claim for free prescriptions.
“Decisions around eligibility for free prescriptions are made by the NHS.”
Someone is at fault and the Department for Work and Pensions is blaming the NHS and the NHS is blaming the Department for Work and Pensions. JOHN HINDS