NHS fraud commission sends public procurement cases to Public Prosecution Service
The CCF-SNS detected "anomalous patterns" in medication prescriptions and forwarded cases to the Public Prosecution Service and the Court of Audit.
Fraud in the NHS: cases sent to Public Prosecution Service following detection of irregularities
The NHS Fraud Prevention Commission (CCF-SNS) has forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service and the Court of Audit cases related to public procurement, following the identification of "anomalous patterns" in medication prescriptions and dispensing. The information was provided to Lusa news agency on Friday by Judge Carlos Alexandre, president of the commission.
According to CNN Portugal, the CCF-SNS began operations in February this year, following its creation by the Government at the end of 2025 with the aim of centralising and coordinating the strategy for fraud prevention and detection in the National Health Service.
In the eight months since it became operational, the commission has processed complaints received by email and coming from public entities. Among the cases analysed, "anomalous patterns of prescription and dispensing of medications and medical devices, in the context of misuse of the system" were detected, with recommendations issued to the entities in question, Carlos Alexandre stated.
Cases related to public procurement were forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service, as the entity responsible for criminal proceedings and directing criminal investigation, and to the Court of Audit, within its remit of overseeing the legality and regularity of public revenue and expenditure.
In the first three months of activity, the CCF-SNS established its operational foundations, with technical meetings with the bodies from which its members come and other central health entities. This preparatory work enabled the creation of a network of focal points in local health units, in oncology institutes and in central bodies, designed to "ensure permanent coordination and systematic information gathering", the commission president explained.
The preliminary analysis identified "critical weaknesses" which served as the basis for defining intervention priorities. Carlos Alexandre pointed to the prevalence of reactive mechanisms over preventive actions, the need to review legislative or regulatory instruments, and the insufficiency of internal control mechanisms and systematic monitoring.
These conclusions underpinned the definition of priority areas included in the Three-Year Action Plan 2026-2029 and the Activity Plan for 2026 of the CCF-SNS.
On the prevention side, the commission president highlighted the proposal to implement alert mechanisms and risk indicators, which should be considered in the NHS waste monitoring platform of the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health. "These instruments aim to trigger, proactively and promptly, verification, detection and mitigation actions of risk-generating situations", Carlos Alexandre stated.
The commission also drew up recommendations and proposals for legislative amendments related to the prevention and detection of fraud and waste in the prescription and dispensing of medications, medical devices and dietary products, in coordination with the various health entities.
The CCF-SNS is made up of permanent members from the Judicial Police, the General Inspectorate for Health Activities, the General Inspectorate of Finance, the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health, the Central Administration of the Health System and the National Medicines Authority.
Source: CNN Portugal