Fraud Hotline

We're raising fraud awareness from today because we want to enhance an antifraud and anticorruption culture within Waikato DHB.

Media release - Waikato DHB introduce new fraud hotline

Fraud is dishonestly obtaining a benefit by deception or other means. It can include:

• theft
• conflict of interest
• providing false information
• corruption
• bribery
• or abuse of power.
  

Waikato DHB's best fraud detectors are its employees and for this reason staff should be well acquainted with the policies and procedures that are essential to eliminate fraud risk.

We've entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Health's Audit and Compliance to run a Fraud Hotline at Waikato DHB.

Raise the issue first with your manager; if you get no joy, escalate it to the Quality and Risk Manager, or to the chief executive if necessary. If you still have no joy, then the Fraud Hotline is there for you.

Since 1995, Audit and Compliance have prosecuted 42 health providers for fraud. No accurate measurement has been made of the levels of fraud and error in the New Zealand health system. Fraud and corruption can be commited by anyone in the system - from board members, health managers, clinicians, internal and external staff to members of the public.

It is important that health funds are used for providing healthcare as intended.

For more information:

• Fraud Policy - facilitates the prevention and detection of fraud and outlines the appropriate steps if fraud is detected or suspected
  
  
• Code of Conduct - a commitment to ethical behaviour throughout the organisation contained in the Performance Management policy.
  
  
• Protected Disclosures - facilitating the disclosure and investigation of matters of serious wrong doing and protecting employees who, in accordance with the Act, disclose information about serious wrong doing in or by the organisation.
  
  
• Override of internal controls - fraud occurs when pressure, opportunity and rationalisation come together. Most people have pressures, everyone rationalises, when internal controls are absent or overriden, everyone has an opportunity to commit fraud.
  

Waikato DHB will not tolerate fraud or corruption and perpetrators will face disciplinary action.

Craig Climo
Chief Executive

Fraud is any deliberate action or omission designed to deceive to derive some direct or indirect personal gain, benefit or advantage. A fraud therefore will typically have three elements: intent, deceit and gain.

Fraud prevention brochure

Examples of fraud may include but are not limited to:

• forgery or alteration of cheques or other documents
• misappropriation or theft of funds, supplies or other assets including intellectual property
• irregularity in the handling or reporting of money
• manipulation of information or documents
• omission or fraudulent treatment of accounting records
• misrepresentation of timesheets and expense claims
• evasion of a Waikato DHB liability
• abuse of a conflict of interest
• trading on confidential or inside information
• accepting or granting of a kickback or bribe
• involvement in the rigging of a bid or price fixing
• hacking or other security breaches
• information systems related fraud such as manipulation of data, equipment, programmes or substituting records in accordance with the Waikato DHB Information Systems Security Policy and Protocol 
• duplicate billing or attempting to procure payment by sending false invoices as a phantom vendor
• inappropriate use of Waikato DHB assets including motor vehicles.
  

The Protected Disclosures “Whistleblower” Policy and the legislation Protected Disclosure Act 2000, details the obligations and rights of employees and employers relating to notification of “serious wrongdoing”.

The Protected Disclosures Act (2000) defines a serious wrong doing to include:

• an unlawful, corrupt, or irregular use of public funds or public resources
• an act, omission or course of conduct that constitutes a serious risk to public health or public safety or the environment
• an act, omission or course of conduct that constitutes a serious risk to the maintenance:
• of the law, including the prevention, investigation, and detection of offences and the right to a fair trial
• an act, omission, or course of conduct that constitutes an offence
• an act, omission, or course of conduct by an employee that is oppressive, improperly discriminatory, or grossly negligent, or that constitutes gross mismanagement.
  

Summary of examples of past fraud incidents

• An employee was proven to have stolen food products from a hospital kitchen and was dismissed; a complaint was filed with the Police. 

• An employee stole a large number of mobile phones, both used and new, and sold them on TradeMe. The person was dismissed and the incident reported to the Police.

• A contract cleaner stole abusable drugs over a four-week period and was dismissed by his employer after being confronted about the thefts.  The incident was also reported to the Police.

• A nurse was observed stealing abusable drugs from the organisation over a two-week period of surveillance, and was dismissed and the incident was reported to the Police.

• An employee made unauthorised use of an organisational vehicle’s fuel card for personal gain, to the value of at least $85.  The employee was dismissed.

• A cafeteria supervisor was seen to steal sale proceeds from the department’s tills over a week of surveillance.  The staff member was dismissed.

• An electrical contractor falsified supplier invoice copies to help conceal at least $150,000 of overcharges to the Waikato DHB during an 18-month period.  The contractual arrangement was terminated, the full amount was repaid by the contractor and one of the company’s directors was prosecuted for fraud.