Disabled man’s family report health service to police over alleged serious wrongdoing

Serious claims of wrongdoing have been made against Devon’s health service by a family that believes the NHS is trying to ditch the costs of their disabled son’s care.

Mark Kent, whose step-son Thomas has a round-the-clock care plan that is estimated to cost £200,000 per year, has been fighting for the past six years to prevent the county’s health service from downgrading the 33-year-old’s support.
Mr Kent claims that a formal document, known as a decision support tool, was unilaterally changed by NHS staff after a meeting to discuss Thomas’s care, and that since then, the health service has illegitimately claimed those alterations were endorsed by Devon County Council even though the council has written to him to dispute that.
The alleged fraud by false representation has been reported by Mr Kent to Devon & Cornwall Police.
“We have provided the police’s economic crime branch with what we believe is clear and unequivocal evidence indicating fraud by false representation and they are now investigating,” he said.
The police have confirmed they have an occurrence number logged in relation to the claim.
The assertion from Mr Kent is that the NHS is trying to avoid paying the millions of pounds in care that Thomas will require throughout his life, a strategy he believes is prevalent across the country.
If Thomas’s assessed care needs were changed, this could affect the care he currently receives but also some of the disability allowances he receives would be clawed back by Devon County Council.
That would mean the cost of Thomas’s care would fall on council tax payers, and crucially for the family, they believe the visibility of his future care would be highly uncertain.
Mr Kent also asserts that Devon County Council has a statutory duty to report an instance like this if it believes fraud by false representation has occurred.
Mr Kent said the NHS had stonewalled any attempt to discuss the issue with him, and this has prompted his MP David Reed to report the issue to the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman.
The matter has also been reported to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which will decide whether Devon County Council has a case to answer for maladministration and obstruction.
Furthermore county councillor Tony Stevens (Reform UK, Exwick & St Thomas) is lobbying on the issue, and Mr Kent has taken his plight to Devon & Cornwall Police, whose serious fraud economic crime unit is analysing the evidence.
Mr Kent, a former technology and finance company chief executive, said the ordeal had been a “huge toll” on himself and his wife, Leila.
“We’ve got depressed about it, and it’s almost a full-time job, but what’s most frustrating is we know we’re right yet everyone involved refuses to communicate with us, so it’s hard work,” he said.
“It’s debilitating and frustrating, as you can send 50 emails, all with valid evidence and always very polite, and just get nothing back.”
Mr Kent said the review of Thomas’s care should never have occurred because of his condition, known as Fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that can cause learning or intellectual difficulties.
That means, Mr Kent said, Thomas would never change and so neither will his care requirements.
“This isn’t about service levels,” Mr Kent said.
“It’s about dishonesty and the [potential] misuse of taxpayer funds.”
He added he would continue to pursue the matter through all available channels “until the truth comes out”, and that he had asked the police to treat the case as not only a criminal fraud investigation, but also as obstructing or perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office through deliberate failure to act upon credible evidence of fraud.
A spokesman for Mr Reed confirmed the MP has referred Mr Kent’s case, which means he believes it fits the criteria as an issue that the ombudsman should look into. The ombudsman, however, will have the final say.
A spokesperson for NHS Devon said: “We cannot comment on individual cases.
“However, we do work with the small number of people who need extra health support or services above those normally provided by the NHS.
“The people who receive these services will have been assessed and have met the criteria for one of the funding streams we manage.
“If someone is eligible, we will co-ordinate the funding for this care with our local authority partners, depending on their individual needs.
“If they aren’t eligible for NHS funding, the ICB will work with the local authority to assess an individual’s needs and ongoing funding of their care package.”
A DCC spokesperson said: “Mr Kent is currently not one of our clients and as such it would not be appropriate for us to comment.”