Rowlands Pharmacist Suspended for Nearly 700 Dishonest NMS Claims Totalling £50k

Allegations

This case centres on a pharmacist who, between February 2020 and March 2023, submitted approximately 669 fraudulent claims under the NHS New Medicine Service (NMS) scheme. The pharmacist falsely recorded that eligible consultations had occurred with patients, despite not completing the required steps of engagement, intervention, and follow-up, as per NHS protocols. The submitted claims totalled £50,416.81 in NHS payments, all of which were later repaid by the employer, Rowlands Pharmacy.

In some instances, patients had not visited the pharmacy for over a year, or had even passed away before the claimed consultations. Medications used in the claims were frequently prescribed long before the claimed NMS date or were for conditions not covered under the NMS scheme. The falsified entries showed patterns such as interventions and follow-ups being recorded within seconds of each other—clearly outside the normal NMS timeline.