Concerns over fake references for agency health workers in Northern Trust as disciplinary cases double

Concerns about fake references being submitted for agency healthcare workers were brought before the Northern Health and Social Care Trust board following an alert earlier this year.

During the most recent Trust board meeting, Paul Turley, a non-executive director, told members that fraudulent references had been submitted for agency posts, with a “small number specific to the Northern Trust”.

According to the meeting minutes, the Procurement and Logistics Service (PaLS) — which provides professional procurement and logistics support to all public Health and Social Care (HSC) organisations in Northern Ireland — became aware of a “potential issue in relation to fake references” in early June.

“After investigation, an issue was identified in respect of multiple references,” the minutes stated.

The report confirmed that both the PSNI and Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, were notified.

All agencies supplying healthcare workers were subsequently instructed to review their pre-employment vetting procedures and provide assurance to PaLS regarding their checking processes.

It was agreed that all Trusts would temporarily pause the onboarding of new agency workers, both registered and unregistered, while the issue was being investigated.

Managers were also reminded of the due diligence required to ensure identity checks are completed when agency workers report for duty.

Separately, at the same meeting, board members were informed that the number of disciplinary cases within the Northern Trust had doubled in recent months.

Jacqui Reid, Director of Human Resources, said that although efforts are made to “resolve things informally”, the number of cases had “crept up to almost double”, with 44 live cases currently being managed.