1,397 criminal sanctions were applied following cases of assault in 2010-2011 compared to 1,128 applied in 2009-2010, representing an increase of almost 24%.
In 2010-2011 there were 18,060 reported physical assaults against NHS staff in England that didn’t involve medical factors. This is a 19% decrease on the figure for 2009-2010, which stood at 22,381.
In total, for 2010-2011 there were 57,830 reported physical assaults against NHS staff in England compared with 56,718 in 2009-2010.
Richard Hampton, the local support and development services manager at NHS Protect, said: “Staff committed to providing our National Health Service should never be expected to suffer violence at work, and it will not be tolerated. NHS Protect urges employers to take firm action in all cases of assault against NHS staff.”
Commenting on the small increase in total assaults, Hampton said: “We believe it reflects both an improved culture of reporting assaults and better mechanisms that are now in place to record them. Rightly, staff demand that their reports of violence are followed-up. Tough action is being taken to ensure that all NHS organisations work better with local police and other agencies to clamp down on anyone who is aggressive and abusive to NHS staff.”
A raft of extra measures have recently been put in place to better protect NHS staff. These include:
- a new joint working agreement with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure criminal assaults are identified and do not go unpunished
- greater use of, and training in, powers to crack down on low-level nuisance behaviour and stop it from escalating into violence against staff (powers under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act)
Since April 2011, NHS Protect has put in place an enhanced network of Area Security Management Specialists (ASMS) across England. Giving guidance to Local Security Management Specialists (LSMS), they assist the NHS in assessing risks of violence, addressing these through prevention work and pursuing legal action when assaults do occur.
View the latest statistics in full.
Medically unqualified clinical director jailed for 27 months
A man who posed for years as a qualified doctor by hijacking a genuine GP’s medical credentials has been jailed after a major fraud investigation by NHS Protect.
Luis Conrad de Souza, 53, of Whitmore Road, Beckenham in Kent was also sentenced at the same court – Croydon Crown Court – for supplying another person’s DNA to the Child Support Agency (CSA) in order to disclaim paternity for his child.
He was jailed for 27 months in total: for the NHS offences he received 18 months in prison and for the CSA-related offences he received nine months to be served consecutively.
Against the NHS, he committed two offences of Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage by Deception, contrary to Section 16 of the Theft Act 1968. A charge of possession of an article for use in fraud, contrary to Section 6 of the Fraud Act 2006, was left by the court to lie on file.
De Souza received at least GB pound 361,000 of NHS money in fraudulently obtained earnings. He sustained the lie that he was a qualified doctor for many years, enabling him to work in well-paid strategic roles for Lewisham Primary Care Trust (PCT) from 2001 to 2010.
His first role with Lewisham PCT, as head of commissioning and service development in 1999, required ‘education to degree level or equivalent’.
In 2001, de Souza began work as a clinical adviser, which required a degree and clinical specialisms. In 2002, he completed a skills and experience summary and stated he was a fully-qualified GP.
No direct contact with patients
In 2005, he obtained the post of clinical director of the South East London Clinical Cardiac Network (SELCCN), now known as the South London Cardiac and Stroke Network. It was essential for applicants to have a degree and clinical experience, but he had neither.
However, De Souza’s jobs did not require him to have direct contact with patients.
His CV stated that he had a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, University of London (dated 1991) but the university’s records show that in fact he attended another of their colleges and he dropped out after two years.
He also claimed to have a BSc (1st Class Honours) in Biochemistry and Chemistry from the University of Cambridge, dated 1987, but Cambridge holds no record that he studied there either.
De Souza resigned from Lewisham PCT, on an unrelated matter, in August 2010.
Mick Hayes, anti-fraud lead at NHS Protect, said: “NHS Protect worked in partnership with Lewisham PCT and the Metropolitan Police Service to investigate Luis Conrad de Souza. This fraud was unusually large, and was a serious abuse of his high position in the NHS.”
Hayes added: “The actions of NHS Protect have prevented him from continuing his criminal career inside the NHS. His conviction sends out the message that NHS Protect will always take reports of fraud seriously and an investigation will be launched wherever appropriate. We pursue all available sanctions to deter others from attacking valuable NHS resources.”