A senior manager who worked for 19 years within the NHS has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and is required to perform 200 hours of unpaid community work for fraud, following an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
Hasan Tahsin, former Head of Estates and Capital Projects at Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, fraudulently earned £245,246 over five years between March 2004 and March 2009, as a result of making false claims about his credentials.
Following an audit of senior managers’ qualifications at the trust, he was arrested and interviewed in May 2009. He admitted he did not possess the university qualifications and memberships of professional bodies he had claimed to on his application forms. They were essential criteria for the posts he attained at five different NHS trusts.
Mr Tahsin, 54, of Romford, Essex, has held responsible positions within the NHS dating back to 1990. His claimed specialisms included estates management and project management.
He was charged with two offences of Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage by Deception (Contrary to Section 16(1) Theft Act 1968) and three offences of Fraud by False Representation (Contrary to Sections 1 and 2 Fraud Act 2006).
Investigating officer Alan McGill, of the NHS Counter Fraud Service, said: “It is regrettable that Tahsin managed to secure senior management posts within the NHS for so long. Such deceptions are the exception and the vast majority of NHS staff are of high integrity.
“This case demonstrates that when suspicions of fraud are brought to the attention of the NHS Counter Fraud Service, we will thoroughly investigate and, where fraud is found, will seek to prosecute.”
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“If everyone adopted best practice and protocols these sorts of events would occur fewer. GPs as employers have to accept that no matter at what level they employ someone, there is always the potential for abuse of a position!! It’s called responsibility from the top down” – Andrew Thomas, South Wales
