NHS Official Imprisoned For Accepting £80,000 Bribe To Award IT Contract

A corrupt NHS official has been joined for three and a half year for accepting bribed worth £80,000 in exchange for awarding lucrative IT contracts.

Guildford Crown Count sentenced 57-year-old Peter Lewis of Windlesham, who was employed by the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as its director of Information. Lewis was sent down after he admitted to taking corrupt payments form Richard Moxon, 41 from Wybunbury in Cheshire in exchange for a ICT contract worth a hefty £950,000.

Moxton also admitted to paying Lewis for the contract, and was sentenced to 14 months imprisonments.

NHS IT corruption

“Peter Lewis sought to greedily divert money from the NHS into his own pockets. While I am glad to see justice being served through his custodial sentence, my team is now focusing on recovering the money Lewis made from his crime, and returning it to the NHS,” said detective superintendent Karen Mizzi, head of proactive crime for Surrey Police.

“I hope Richard Moxon’s sentence will act as a warning to other public sector suppliers, who may be tempted to go along with a fraud rather than reporting an approach to the relevant authorities at the earliest opportunity.”

Also, mincing no words, Alf Turner, deputy chief executive of Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, heavily criticised the actions of Lewis.

“In accordance with NHS and public service values, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust expects its staff to act with honesty and integrity at all times,” he said.

“Mr. Lewis fundamentally broke these foundations, grossly abusing the trust placed in him as a senior manager within the NHS.

“It is rare for members of NHS staff to be willing or able to breach their position of Trust as highlighted by this case.”

Stephen Rowland, specialist prosecutor from the CPS Specialist Fraud Division, echoed these sentiments: “Peter Lewis abused his position for his own financial gain. The prosecution evidence showed how Lewis approached Moxon for a bribe and had the money paid directly into the same bank account as his salary. The clear evidence resulted in both men pleading guilty.”

With digital transformation underway at the NHS and across the wider public sector, the healthcare system is a lucrative target for IT suppliers. However, competition is fierce between some of the small to mid size companies, so in some ways such corruption is not too surprising, if morally deficient.

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