The below is a real case study from one of our own providers in Hertfordshire. They have asked us to share the information as a warning to other providers to be very aware of possible fraud.
Case Study:
We have been dealing with a very difficult internal issue relating to 5 employees who we discovered through our routine vaccination evidence checks had obtained their COVID-19 Vaccination passports fraudulently.
There are five employees in total and the passes were purchased online through a Doctor in Poland. All five are from the same family. We have reported this to CQC, Health Security Agency and the Police who have referred us to a specialist fraud team dealing with COVID passports. These passports were purchased in November 2021 and submitted to us as the employer at the end of January 2022 as part of our evidence of vaccination processes. CQC have advised us to inform HCPA and LA commissioners to alert other providers to this issue and what they should look out for.
Please note all five passes are genuine, in that they have QR codes that are live and will scan at airports etc., causing no issues in terms of travel. We discovered the issue when cross checking the dates of the alleged vaccinations with the individuals work rotas as they informed us they had had their vaccinations in Poland, but we had no record of their travel to Poland or any isolation periods that they would have had to adhere to upon re-entering England from Poland. On checking the dates it was clear that they were actually working on or in in-between the days they claimed to have had their vaccinations.
We are progressing with our standard disciplinary processes with these individuals and to date three of these staff members have been dismissed and the remaining two are in going through the HR process.
This is obviously a very disappointing incident to have to deal with as a care provider where we rely so much on trust and good judgment amongst our workforce and we would hate any other provider to have to go through this.
We were advised to call the Crimestoppers number by 119 and they are now taking the investigation forward – they seem to be taking it very seriously!
Please click here to see a poster which you may want to display in your office.
If you have any concerns at all and you want support please contact assistance@hcpa.co.uk or phone 01707 708 108