Dentist charged over stealing £1million in 'biggest ever' NHS fraud

A dentist has been charged with stealing £1million from the NHS in what is alleged to be one of the biggest frauds in the history of the health service. Dr Joyce Trail, 48, is accused of submitting up to 5,000 bogus patient invoices between 2006 and 2009 and has been suspended from her practice in the West Midlands.

She is charged with one count of obtaining a false money transfer by deception and three counts of fraud and is due to attend a committal hearing at Birmingham magistrates’ court a week on Friday. Dr Trail, who also runs a medical spa in Birmingham, denies any wrongdoing and has said that she intends to plead not guilty to all charges.

She has run her busy practice in Handsworth in the city for the past 12 years and also provides dental treatment at scores of old people’s homes. In 2008, she opened the city’s first medical spa next door to her practice, offering everything from Botox to ‘smile make-overs’. Proud of her community, Dr Trail has become well-known for her determination to help businesses prosper in the area where she grew up.

She was described her in 2006 as ‘an amazing individual who has given us a lot of help’ by the Community Contact Family Centre, which she supported. But she was suspended following a lengthy probe by the NHS Counter Fraud Team and West Midlands Police, which led to her arrest.

Source: The Metro.