'Sick' doctor swindled NHS

With a six-bedroom house worth £1.5 million and a convertible Jaguar in the drive, neighbours of Dr Michael Hodges probably assumed he had a lucrative Harley Street practice.

In reality he funded his lifestyle by working in private practice while on sick leave for a year, fleecing the NHS out of thousands of pounds.

As the taxpayer paid for locum doctors at his own surgery, Hodges made a six-figure fortune treating the directors of Tesco, carrying out screenings at private hospitals and seeing fee-paying patients at his Essex home.

The 47-year-old doctor, who also collected extra money by lying about his wife working at the practice, was today behind bars after being convicted on 12 charges of false accounting over three years. His wife Susan - supposedly a receptionist working only 21 hours a week - drives a convertible Audi TT worth £25,000.

In January 2001 Hodges took a year's sick leave, complaining of hearing difficulties, leaving his patients at the Clayhall Clinic in Ilford with no doctor. Redbridge and Waltham Forest Health Authority paid three locums a total of £17,000 to cover for him. A further £29,500 was paid for his wife's services at the surgery.

Barrister Andrew Evans told Southwark Crown Court: "During the year when the defendant claimed to be too ill to perform his duties as a GP, he provided a range of medical services for other organisations.

"He provided an occupational health service for Tesco's head office in Cheshunt and a private GP service for the company's directors. He conducted numerous medical examinations for the Ministry of Defence on potential recruits applying to the armed services.

"He also worked at a local Bupa hospital where he introduced a private GP service, as well as carrying out health screenings. Furthermore, he saw a number of patients privately at his home. The health authority would never have paid that money had it known what was going on."

Today people at the 5,000-patient NHS practice said they were amazed Hodges had been able to swindle as much as £100,000.

Pensioner Edna Hearn said: "He was such a good doctor, which is why this has come as a shock. Doctors have such a good quality of life. I don't understand why he had to be so greedy." Another added: "They said he was taking a sabbatical and we never saw him again. When he opened the practice in 1984 he said if we had any problems to come to him.

"But he was very moneyorientated, more a businessman than a doctor. He was very suave and sophisticated. Everyone you spoke to said he was money-mad.

We never saw his wife in 20 years. All this about her working there was rubbish. She would never get her hands dirty." Mrs Hodges refused to answer questions at the Woodford Green home last night.

Detective Constable Christian Andrew from the Met's economic and specialist crime unit said: "Hodges tried to exploit the NHS by claiming thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money.

"This meant that on occasion he was effectively being paid twice over. Thankfully cases like this are rare, but Hodges' case should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of committing public-sector fraud."

Nikki Leonard of the London NHS counter-fraud service added: "Fraud deprives the NHS of valuable resources. Money allocated for patient care should reach its target and not line the pockets of a fraudulent minority.

"His actions have shamed himself and his profession. We hope the verdict will send a message to any potential NHS fraudster - you will be caught and punished."

The charges covered the period between April 1998 and December 2001. Hodges will be sentenced on 29 July.