Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Whittingham Hospital.

  • Great Britain. Committee of Inquiry into Whittingham Hospital.
Date:
[1972]
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Whittingham Hospital. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    48/80 page 38
    99. Since the hospital is comparatively isolated, opportunities for expendi- ture of patients’ money outside have been limited ; and the auditors found that there had been a steady decline over recent years in the volume of shop- takings compared with the amounts of patients’ allowances. In 1968-69 £91,000 was issued from all sources for patients’ use; yet the total takings of the hospital shop were only £42,000. The remaining £49,000 is not easily accounted for. At the hearing the Group Secretary produced information about cash spending outside the hospital shop by Whittingham patients during 1970-71 which suggested that £26,000 could have been used for purchases in local shops, expenditure in local clubs and public houses and a variety of other activities from day trips to jumble sales. This, however, still leaves a substantial sum unaccounted for—even if it can be assumed that expenditure in this later year was much the same as expenditure in 1968-69. 100. It is clear to us that the system has been so open to abuse that it would be virtually impossible for unscrupulous staff to resist their oppor- tunities. The Police Superintendent told us, “As for the payments to patients, I feel any determined person could have made quite a good living from these with very little fear of detection”. The extensive audit and police investigations of 1969-70 yielded only two cases where prosecutions could be undertaken for theft. But the facts set before us point towards large- scale pilfering, if not more organised corruption, and are consistent with the students’ complaints of July, 1967, and the evidence of the witnesses quoted in Chapter 3. 101. As the former Treasurer told us, the main aim of any system of financial control must be to reduce the amount of cash flow to wards and ensure an adequate system of signing for money which minimises the risk of fraud. It is not possible to remove the risk entirely: as the Group Secretary said in evidence, “In every hospital there is bound to be a point where accounting ends and integrity begins”. Since the audit investigation began the Treasurer’s Department have themselves taken steps to reduce the cash flow to wards, mainly by crediting more money to patients’ accounts, improving and regularly checking ward records and preparing financial instructions for nurses. The auditors have now recommended that further steps be taken. These are: (1) improving assessment of patients’ needs ; (2) expanding the banking service to as many patients as possible ; (3) introducing a system of vouchers for purchases from the hospital shop ; and (4) ensuring secure delivery to patients of social security payments, etc. We welcome these measures and hope that the Treasurer’s Department will be strengthened to allow them to be implemented as soon as possible. 102. We understand that, as a result of the special audit investigation at Whittingham, the Department of Health and Social Security are currently preparing advice to hospitals generally on the control of patients’ money. The main aim will be to reduce the cash flow to wards by crediting social security benefits, pocket money and reward payments directly to patients’
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