The NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) Strategy 2026–2029 sets out how the NHS will protect valuable healthcare resources from fraud, bribery and corruption during a period of significant transformation. As the health service becomes increasingly digital, collaborative and locally integrated, new opportunities for fraud are emerging alongside the benefits of modernisation. The strategy recognises that effective counter fraud activity is essential to safeguarding public funds and ensuring resources remain available for patient care.

A central theme of the strategy is the shift from a predominantly investigative approach towards one focused on prevention, intelligence and resilience. The NHSCFA aims to work with NHS organisations to identify and mitigate risks before losses occur, while continuing to strengthen detection and enforcement capabilities.

Strategic Vision

The NHSCFA’s vision is to create a healthcare system in which fraud prevention is embedded throughout organisational decision-making and service delivery. This will be achieved through:

  • Preventing fraud before it occurs.
  • Improving detection through intelligence, technology and data analytics.
  • Embedding fraud resilience within NHS transformation programmes.
  • Strengthening partnerships across healthcare and the wider public sector.
  • Developing a future-ready counter fraud profession.

The strategy also places greater emphasis on tackling bribery and corruption alongside traditional fraud risks, reflecting the broader economic crime landscape facing public sector organisations.

Five Strategic Objectives
  1. Prevention by Design

The strategy prioritises integrating fraud controls into the design of services, systems and processes. Fraud risk assessments should be embedded within policy development, transformation programmes, procurement activity and digital initiatives. The objective is to ensure organisations become inherently resilient rather than relying primarily on investigations after fraud has occurred.

  1. Harnessing Data and Technology

As healthcare becomes increasingly digital, the NHSCFA will expand the use of large NHS datasets, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and predictive techniques to identify suspicious activity and emerging threats. This approach will support intelligence-led interventions and more proactive fraud detection.

  1. Embedding Counter Fraud Across Healthcare Systems

The growth of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), collaborative provider arrangements and new delivery models requires counter fraud arrangements to evolve. The strategy seeks to ensure fraud risk management is embedded across organisational boundaries and incorporated into system-level governance frameworks.

  1. Expanding Strategic Partnerships

The NHSCFA intends to strengthen collaboration with NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care, arm’s-length bodies, regulators, law enforcement agencies and NHS provider organisations. Greater intelligence sharing and coordinated responses are expected to improve the identification and management of fraud threats across the sector.

  1. Building Capability, Performance and Resilience

The strategy commits to strengthening the NHS counter fraud profession through improved workforce capability, consistent standards, enhanced performance measurement and stronger accountability arrangements. NHS organisations should expect increased scrutiny regarding counter fraud effectiveness and demonstrable outcomes.

Key Risks Identified

The strategy highlights a rapidly changing threat environment driven by:

  • NHS digital transformation.
  • Growing volumes of healthcare data.
  • Increasingly complex supply chains and procurement arrangements.
  • Organised criminal activity targeting public sector funding.
  • Fraud risks associated with new models of health and care delivery.

These factors reinforce the importance of a preventative and intelligence-led approach to protecting NHS resources.

What NHS Boards and Audit Committees Should Focus On
  • Adopt a prevention-led approach to counter fraud activity.
  • Strengthen fraud risk management within transformation, procurement and digital programmes.
  • Increase the use of data analytics to identify vulnerabilities and emerging risks.
  • Enhance collaboration across organisational and ICS boundaries.
  • Demonstrate robust governance, accountability and fraud resilience through effective assurance processes.
Conclusion

The NHSCFA Strategy 2026–2029 represents a significant evolution in the NHS approach to counter fraud. Rather than focusing primarily on investigation and recovery, the strategy promotes prevention, intelligence-led activity and organisational resilience. Success will depend on NHS organisations embedding fraud controls into service design, making greater use of data and technology, and working collaboratively across healthcare systems to ensure public funds are protected and available for frontline patient care.

Full information at: NHSCFA Strategy 2026-2029 | corporate publications | NHS Counter Fraud Authority