Chief Executive / Director of Finance and Information

Bribery Act 2010 & Trust Anti-Bribery Statement

On 1st July 2011 the Bribery Act 2010 came into force, reforming the criminal law of bribery and corruption making it easier to tackle these offences proactively. It created specific criminal offences which carry custodial sentences of up to 10 years and potentially unlimited fines. It also introduced a corporate offence which means that if Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust) is exposed to criminal liability, it is punishable by an unlimited fine, for failing to prevent bribery.

Bribery may be considered to be: ‘an inducement or reward offered, promised or provided to someone to perform their functions or activities improperly in order to gain a personal, commercial, regulatory and/or contractual advantage.’

Bribery is a criminal offence. The Trust does not, and will not, pay bribes or offer improper inducements to anyone for any purpose; nor do we, or will we, accept bribes or improper inducements. This approach applies to everyone who works for us, or with us. To use a third party as a conduit to channel bribes to others is a criminal offence. We do not, and will not, engage indirectly in, or otherwise encourage, bribery.

We are as committed to the prevention, deterrence and detection of bribery just as we are to combatting fraud in the NHS. As an organisation, we have a zero-tolerance attitude towards bribery and we aim to maintain anti-bribery compliance as ‘business as usual’. The Trust will seek the most stringent sanctions against anyone seeking to commit bribery or fraud.

To this end, everyone associated with the Trust is expected to play their part. The Trust has measures in place to combat fraud, bribery and corruption.  We have adopted a corporate Anti-Bribery Strategy, and have in place an Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy and Response Plan.

To find out more about the Bribery Act and how it might affect your department or area of responsibility in relation to the Trust, please contact the Director of Finance and Information, or the Trust’s Anti-Fraud Specialist.

Reporting Concerns

If you have any concerns or suspicions regarding bribery, corruption or fraud affecting the Trust, you can contact: the Director of Finance and Information, the Counter Fraud Champion, Freedom to Speak up Guardians, or directly to the Chief Executive via “Ask Ann” https://sthk.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ask-ann

The Trust’s postal address is: Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Whiston Hospital, Warrington Road, Prescot, L35 5DR. Our switchboard telephone number is: 0151 426 1600. Visit our website for further information about the Trust: https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/

You can also contact the Trust’s Anti-Fraud Specialist on telephone 0151 285 4500.

If anyone has any suspicions or concerns about fraud, bribery or corruption affecting the NHS in England and Wales, they can report to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) by calling the 24/7 Crimestoppers freephone line 0800 028 4060, or by using the online reporting form https://cfa.nhs.uk/reportfraud