A joint approach to tackling violence & fraud
7 December 2007
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HSC celebrated a year of joint working with the the Dorset and Somerset Counter Fraud & Security Management Service in October. |
The School of Health & Social Care and the Dorset and Somerset Counter Fraud & Security Management Service recerntly celebrated a year of joint working. Since October 2006, over 1200 student Nurses, Midwives, Operating Department Practitioners and Physiotherapists have received security and fraud awareness training.
Now an established part of the University’s programme, the students receive information and advice on how they should deal with violence and aggression directed towards themselves and their colleagues. Students might encounter this type of behaviour whilst working on placement, or when they finally take-up full time positions within the NHS. Security Manager Will Smith said “The NHS aims to provide a safe and secure environment for patients, staff and visitors. It is our desire to make violence towards NHS staff as unacceptable as domestic violence. The partnership with Bournemouth University will ensure that awareness of this issue is embedded with the next generation of health care professionals – the students of today.”
Students also receive fraud awareness training, which not only gives them information about who they should contact if they suspect fraud or corruption, but details of local investigations, some of which have involved students. Barry Hards, Deputy Head of Counter Fraud & Security said “It is essential that students understand what fraud is, especially in circumstances where they are in receipt of a bursary from a local Trust or on secondment and might consider working additional hours on the bank or for agencies. If students fail to attend their lectures or placement, but work elsewhere, this is fraud and they need to understand this.”
Professor Paul Lewis, Associate Dean, Midwifery and Rehabilitation Sciences at the School of Health and Social Care, said “The collaboration between Bournemouth University and our local Counter Fraud Officers has been extremely positive. It has informed and educated students, as well as lecturers, about the complex issues of fraud and it’s consequences for the NHS, patient care and professional practice. The principal which our collaboration seeks to uphold is that of the individual and collective responsibility which students have, to work within the law and the Nursing & Midwifery Council Code of Professional Conduct.”
