Lock 'em up and throw away the key...

From the BBC:

The NHS fraud squad is investigating GPs in England amid suspicions they are claiming for non-existent patients.

The NHS Counter Fraud Authority is now launching its own investigation.

… in the following order

1. Whoever thought it was a good idea to pay each GP a quarter of a million quid a year in the first place. From the article.

The average GP has around 1,700 patients on their list so the payments make up a significant chunk of their income.

1,700 x £150 = £255,000, and that’s just a ‘significant chunk’. How much more do the buggers get?

2. Whoever thought it was a good idea to pay GP’s on this basis (rather than work actually done).

3. Whoever let things slide for so long rather than crunching the numbers every year as a matter of routine.

4. Whoever thought it was a good idea to throw money at Crapita for doing something which the NHS Fraud Authority is (or should) be doing.

4. A few GPs and their chief receptionists who must have been complicit in the whole scam, pour encourager les autres.