Financial Integrity for Healthcare Professionals

This financial probity course is about the financial statements healthcare professionals make every week: timesheets, mileage and expense claims, fee estimates, NHS claims and declarations of interest. Patients, employers and the public trust these to be true. When that trust is broken, the result can be regulatory action, dismissal and criminal proceedings for the same conduct.

Over about two hours the course covers the principles of financial integrity, what the regulators expect, the 2017 joint statement on conflicts of interest, NHS England's rules on gifts and hospitality, and private practice, fees and referrals. It then works through common breaches, including claiming hours not worked and working elsewhere while on sick leave, and explains the line between honest error and dishonesty using the Ivey v Genting test.

It is self-paced on our course portal, with case illustrations, reflection points, 15 scenario questions and a written reflective account. A certificate of completion is issued when you pass.

The course is written for all UK healthcare professionals and maps to eight regulators. It suits:

• professionals in NHS, private and mixed practice who want CPD on probity, fees and conflicts of interest;
• registrants responding to an investigation about timesheets, bank or agency shifts, expenses, claims or undeclared interests;
• clinicians starting private practice alongside an NHS post, or taking on partnership or management duties;
• anyone who is offered gifts, hospitality, sponsorship or speaker fees.

For honesty in records, research or applications more broadly, the Probity for Healthcare Professionals course may suit better. Which course do I need? will help you choose, or see the full catalogue.

A conclusion, quick-reference guide and references follow, then your reflective account.

Every regulator expects honesty in financial and commercial dealings. The course summarises their expectations alongside the law. Use the table to name the right standard when you record the learning.

Healthcare Practise UK is an independent provider and is not affiliated with any regulator. Read the current guidance on your regulator's site; NHS gift and hospitality thresholds can change. Our GMC and NMC pages explain how CPD fits with revalidation.

Financial concerns are treated seriously because the central issue is honesty, not the amount of money. The course is clear that genuine insight recognises this, and that an account which changes as evidence emerges, or insight expressed only shortly before a hearing, carries less weight. Regulators also find dishonesty harder to remediate than gaps in knowledge or skill; the NMC asks whether a concern can be addressed at all.

• Get advice early. Speak to your defence organisation, union or a solicitor before responding, especially if counter fraud or the police are involved.
• Be honest about what happened. Module 6 explains how to accept responsibility without minimising, blaming others or relying on workload as an excuse.
• Reflect on your own financial statements. The course asks how you will apply the principles to your timesheets, claims, fees or declarations. Our reflective statement builder helps you structure the account in your own words.
• Show the safeguards. Practical checks, declarations kept up to date and supervision are evidence that the risk has been reduced.

A course alone is not enough, and no course decides the outcome. If honesty is at the heart of the concern, the probity and dishonesty pathway sets out the full plan, and Rebuilding Trust of Patients, Public and the Regulator covers accountability and working with the regulator.

• About two hours of learning, including reading, reflection points, the reflective account and the assessment. Record the time you actually spend.
• Case illustrations across nursing, pharmacy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
• 15 scenario-based multiple-choice questions, with a pass mark of 12 out of 15 (80%).
• A written reflective account that stays on your own device. Save a copy before you close the course.
• A certificate of completion issued by Healthcare Practise UK.

This course is part of the Probity Remediation Pack, with Probity for Healthcare Professionals, Professionalism in Documentation, Rebuilding Trust and the three IRR modules. The pathway also adds the ethics course for your profession.

On their own, the closest companions are Probity for Healthcare Professionals, which covers honesty in records, research and declarations, and the record keeping course, which covers honesty in forms, CVs and claims.