0:00:02 > 0:00:05Here in the UK, we're lucky to have things like transport networks,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Legal Aid and free healthcare.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11I'd like to think my taxes went to the NHS, to elderly people.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13We are lucky to have the National Health.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16When you are ill, they do come up trumps.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19These services are mostly paid for by us,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22the taxpayer, and, on the whole, we don't mind.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26But what happens when someone tries to steal from the system?
0:00:26 > 0:00:28It is a criminal offence.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32I think that's wrong that doctors take money from the NHS,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34because it's really the people who need it.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35Ridiculous!
0:00:35 > 0:00:38With the economy as tough as it is,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41it's more important than ever that those who nick from the system
0:00:41 > 0:00:43don't get away with it
0:00:43 > 0:00:45and those who need help get it.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50This is the world of Saints & Scroungers.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Coming up, the scroungers who are out to beat the system.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00A fraudster who worked his way to the top of the NHS ranks,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02swindling half a million pounds,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05despite never having qualified as a doctor.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08This is the kind of investigation we take extremely seriously,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10because patient safety is at stake.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13And we meet a family in need of help when their son is refused benefits
0:01:13 > 0:01:16despite being diagnosed with cancer.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20In the department's eyes, his care needs were not any greater
0:01:20 > 0:01:22than any other nine-year-old.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25We were flabbergasted.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31The NHS is full of unsung heroes -
0:01:31 > 0:01:33doctors, nurses, paramedics.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37They train for years and work long, hard hours
0:01:37 > 0:01:40to make sure we are safe and healthy.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42And when we're in their hands,
0:01:42 > 0:01:43we trust them completely.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46But every so often, along comes a fraudster
0:01:46 > 0:01:49who wants to take a short cut to the top.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Meet Conrad De Souza.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55This man was put in a position of trust,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57working within the top ranks of the NHS
0:01:57 > 0:02:01to make decisions about care for heart disease and stroke patients
0:02:01 > 0:02:03in southeast London.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06So why in October 2011
0:02:06 > 0:02:08was he put behind bars?
0:02:08 > 0:02:10I've come to NHS Protect,
0:02:10 > 0:02:14the department that tackles fraud and security in the health service,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18to meet Sue Frith, who heads up national investigations.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21OK, so let's talk about this guy.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25What were the roles he was holding within the NHS?
0:02:25 > 0:02:27He was a clinical director.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29He was on a network for cardiac care
0:02:29 > 0:02:30in the southeast.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34It was a very responsible job and he was working with other clinicians
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and making decisions, so although he wasn't clinically treating patients
0:02:38 > 0:02:40and sitting with people as a GP would,
0:02:40 > 0:02:44he was making decisions that affected people's healthcare
0:02:44 > 0:02:46in that area of London.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50So De Souza wasn't a doctor who would see patients directly,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54but he had the power to make vital decisions about their healthcare.
0:02:54 > 0:02:55Not unusual.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59And he'd spent a decade working his way up the ranks to that position,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03since first being hired by the NHS in 1999.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07But a decade later, the CSA - the Child Support Agency -
0:03:07 > 0:03:12suddenly cast a shadow of doubt over everything De Souza stood for.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16I believe it was in 2010 when the Child Support Agency
0:03:16 > 0:03:20had some concerns about him. They had their own inquiry.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24During that inquiry, they brought up some facts
0:03:24 > 0:03:28that they thought we'd be interested in in relation to Mr De Souza's qualifications.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31The CSA was already investigating De Souza
0:03:31 > 0:03:33at a former girlfriend's request
0:03:33 > 0:03:36after he denied being the father of her baby.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41Unbelievably, De Souza had provided someone else's DNA sample
0:03:41 > 0:03:44in an effort to dodge maintenance payments for his own child.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Not great behaviour by anyone's standards.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51But whilst the CSA were examining De Souza's personal affairs,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55his professional life also became a real cause for concern.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57The case was assigned to Dave Horsley
0:03:57 > 0:03:59to fully investigate.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Once we got the allegation in
0:04:01 > 0:04:02from the Child Support Agency,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04we contacted Lewisham Primary Care Trust
0:04:04 > 0:04:08to see what paperwork they had in relation to Conrad De Souza.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12And that meant getting a copy of his application form and the CV.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Back in 2002,
0:04:14 > 0:04:20De Souza had applied for a role as clinical advisor for coronary heart disease and stroke patients.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25This is the CV that Conrad De Souza provided in support of his applications for employment.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27And if we look at the form,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31we can see that he claims first of all to have a BSc
0:04:31 > 0:04:35from the University of Cambridge in biochemistry and chemistry
0:04:35 > 0:04:37in 1987.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39We made inquiries with the University of Cambridge
0:04:39 > 0:04:44and established that not only does he not hold such a degree,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46but he'd never actually studied there at all.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48OK, so that's not sounding good.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51But there was a whole list of other qualifications.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Presumably, De Souza had just made one silly mistake.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58He then claims to have an MB BS,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00which is a medical degree,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03and we know from making enquiries with University College, London,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06that he did study there for a short time,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09but he didn't pass, he didn't qualify,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11and therefore he doesn't hold that qualification.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Right, now the alarm bells really are ringing.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16A top NHS advisor
0:05:16 > 0:05:19who may not have any medical training at all.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Worrying that De Souza's CV might be a complete work of fiction,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Dave decided to check the number he'd given
0:05:26 > 0:05:29as his entry on the General Medical Council's database.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33All medical doctors in the UK have to be registered with the GMC
0:05:33 > 0:05:35if they want to practise here.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38We made those checks and found that the number is indeed genuine,
0:05:38 > 0:05:43but the name allocated to that number was not Conrad De Souza
0:05:43 > 0:05:45but another doctor with a similar name.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49The true doctor who is registered with the General Medical Council
0:05:49 > 0:05:51probably wouldn't have known.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57So not only had De Souza lied about his qualifications,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00he'd also stolen a legitimate doctor's identity,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03cleverly allowing anyone who employed him
0:06:03 > 0:06:05a means to check his false credentials
0:06:05 > 0:06:07on the GMC register.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09With these hooky credentials,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13De Souza had successfully forged a lengthy clinical career.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18As far back as 1999, he'd been employed by the NHS.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Admittedly, his first role didn't require medical qualifications,
0:06:21 > 0:06:26but soon after that, he was applying for, and getting, jobs that did.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28And in the decade that his work spanned,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31he earned hundreds of thousands of pounds that you and I paid for
0:06:31 > 0:06:34in taxes and National Insurance.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37We found through talking to people
0:06:37 > 0:06:40that Conrad De Souza had been describing himself
0:06:40 > 0:06:42as a doctor for a very long time.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45And certainly from 1999 onwards,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49it would seem that he was starting to sign himself off as being a doctor
0:06:49 > 0:06:52in communications that he was sending.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56We already know that our conman had succeeded in pulling the wool over everyone's eyes
0:06:56 > 0:06:59to get the 2002 job in Lewisham.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01But three years later, he was at it again.
0:07:03 > 0:07:09In 2005, Conrad De Souza applied for the job of Clinical Director
0:07:09 > 0:07:11for the Cardiac Network, which is a role
0:07:11 > 0:07:16not having contact with patients, but it was involved in setting strategy and policy
0:07:16 > 0:07:19for cardiac care within the Lewisham and surrounding area.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22That required him to have a clinical degree and clinical experience.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25So although he didn't work face-to-face with patients,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28De Souza did take on the responsibility
0:07:28 > 0:07:33of deciding how people with very serious heart or stroke conditions would be cared for.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37And it looked to the investigators that whether driven by greed or arrogance,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40once he started lying, he just couldn't stop.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43When we look at his work history,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45he's claiming to currently hold the post
0:07:45 > 0:07:50of a GP Principal in a five-partner practice in southeast London.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53He says he runs the minor surgery unit there
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and a monthly cardiovascular clinic.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Needless to say, he'd done nothing of the kind.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02De Souza had invented his work at one GP practice
0:08:02 > 0:08:04and then used headed paper from another
0:08:04 > 0:08:08to invoice Lewisham PCT in 2005.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12All a clever ruse to pretend that he was juggling GP duties
0:08:12 > 0:08:15with his clinical director role.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20OK, so he was billing you through a GP's practice.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24Presumably, he was indicating that he was part of that practice.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29Yes. And we spoke to the senior partners there,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32who had no knowledge of him having worked there
0:08:32 > 0:08:37or could give any explanation as to why payments were being made to him through the practice.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Unfortunately, the practice manager, who might have been able to help,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44had since retired and we were unable to locate him.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47You're starting to get a picture here.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51You've got fake credentials, you've got him using a GP practice
0:08:51 > 0:08:53of which he has no involvement at all
0:08:53 > 0:08:57as a way to siphon the money back through to him.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- I mean, it's not looking good for him right now.- No.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04- No, it's not.- In total, how much did De Souza take from the NHS?
0:09:04 > 0:09:07It was close on half a million pounds
0:09:07 > 0:09:09over the period of his employment.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14- Which is how long?- More or less ten years he was working for the primary care trust.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17I mean, that's staggering, really - not just the sum of money
0:09:17 > 0:09:22but the fact that he was able to get away with it for that long.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Can you work out how that happened?
0:09:24 > 0:09:26We're told that he's a charismatic man.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29We've asked managers at the primary care trust,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32perhaps in hindsight, is there something they should have been aware of?
0:09:32 > 0:09:35And they've struggled to come up with anything
0:09:35 > 0:09:38that they can say, hand on heart, "Yes, we should have known".
0:09:38 > 0:09:42He seemed to be very, very good at passing himself off as a credible doctor.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44And De Souza was good.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Good to the tune of £477,000,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51which he earned while pretending to be a doctor.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53He had an enviable lifestyle
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and part-owned three properties.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58The taxpayer's money would have to be recouped
0:09:58 > 0:10:00and put back in the NHS coffers,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04so getting the case to court was a matter of urgency.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09We had somebody who was allegedly purporting to be a doctor
0:10:09 > 0:10:11when they weren't
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and where patient safety could be a factor,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17then those cases are treated with the utmost priority by NHS Protect
0:10:17 > 0:10:21and consequently, this case was investigated immediately.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24With the CVs and job applications he had,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Dave thought he could get the fake doctor struck off immediately,
0:10:27 > 0:10:32but what he urgently needed was solid proof of De Souza's wrongdoing
0:10:32 > 0:10:35to guarantee the clever conman's spot in front of a judge.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40Later, the police raid De Souza's house and bring him in for questioning.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44We'll find out if Dave uncovers the hard evidence he needs.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Right, let's put our scroungers up on the shelf for a while
0:10:51 > 0:10:53and instead say hello to our saints -
0:10:53 > 0:10:58the good men and women of this country who come to the help of those who really need assistance
0:10:58 > 0:11:02but are too scared or unsure of how to find it.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Getting a diagnosis with the word "cancer" in it
0:11:10 > 0:11:11is bad enough,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13but when it's your child who's ill,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17as a parent, it's your worst fears realised.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21And it doesn't just impact on your child's life either.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Of course, it affects the whole family.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27And life for the Duncan family in Fife
0:11:27 > 0:11:31changed in 2009, when six-year-old Noah told his dad Aaron
0:11:31 > 0:11:33that something was bothering him.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38One Thursday afternoon when we were walking back home
0:11:38 > 0:11:40from the shops just up the road,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44he mentioned to me that, for whatever reason, he could see two buses.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47That's when he told me that a friend at school
0:11:47 > 0:11:49had poked him a bit in the eye.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51And certainly his eye didn't appear to be
0:11:51 > 0:11:54any major trauma or swelling.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56He hadn't been complaining about it.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58So, at the time,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02we felt maybe it was just him being...you know...
0:12:02 > 0:12:04something and nothing.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07So, at first Noah and his dad thought little of it.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10And when Aaron took his son to the GP a few days later,
0:12:10 > 0:12:15the doctor also thought it was nothing a course of antibiotic drops wouldn't sort out.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19But when things hadn't improved a week later,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Aaron's training as a nurse kicked in.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24He knew they'd have to get Noah's eye checked again.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28The GP sent them to a local hospital to see a specialist.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31The consultant appeared
0:12:31 > 0:12:33and he...
0:12:33 > 0:12:37basically took five minutes of looking into Noah's eye
0:12:37 > 0:12:43and he turned round to me and mentioned the words rhabdomyosarcoma.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45Now, I'm a nurse
0:12:45 > 0:12:47and I heard the word "sarcoma"
0:12:47 > 0:12:54and suddenly my world changed from trauma to suddenly....cancer.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57The diagnosis was of a cancer that was affecting the muscle
0:12:57 > 0:12:59behind Noah's eye.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04Although Aaron had plenty of experience of giving upsetting news to his patients,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07he'd never been on the receiving end of anything like this.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Not only did he have to cope,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13he had to find the strength to break the news to his wife.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17I remember telling Brenda and she just burst into tears.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20I was feeling confused.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23I didn't know what was going to happen.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Kind of scared as well
0:13:26 > 0:13:29at the same time. Confused and scared.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Noah was referred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36The team there thought the diagnosis was correct,
0:13:36 > 0:13:38but they needed to do a biopsy,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42just to be sure how to treat the cancer with the right form of chemotherapy.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47During that time... I think we're talking about a week,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49ten days, something like that,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Noah's tumour started growing quite aggressively,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56resulting in his eyeball protruding a lot more,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00and he was actually unable to close his eye.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03The doctors decided enough was enough
0:14:03 > 0:14:06and took the decision to go ahead and treat Noah immediately.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Understandably, both parents wanted to be there for their son
0:14:10 > 0:14:13and they also had their three-year-old daughter, Hannah, to take care of.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Going to work just wasn't an option.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21I stopped doing my agency nursing, understandably,
0:14:21 > 0:14:23and my wife Brenda was off work,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27so at that point, we hadn't...
0:14:27 > 0:14:30we hadn't thought about the financial issue,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34because our main priority was what's going to happen to our child.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38And the fear was that you could see the physical changes
0:14:38 > 0:14:42which meant that the cancer, the tumour, was growing
0:14:42 > 0:14:45and that's when you start thinking the worst.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47That you might lose your son.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51They were holding in the tears, if you know what I mean.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Just sad on the inside.
0:14:53 > 0:14:54And worried...
0:14:54 > 0:14:57about me passing away and...
0:14:57 > 0:14:58all that kind of stuff.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Although times were tough, the Duncans knew they and the hospital
0:15:02 > 0:15:05were giving their son the very best care.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08And when the time came to give Noah his first round of chemo,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Aaron was right there with him.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13I do remember at the time wearing a hoodie
0:15:13 > 0:15:15and Noah...
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Instead of going down on a trolley,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Noah wore my hoodie, which drowned him
0:15:20 > 0:15:23and I actually carried him down
0:15:23 > 0:15:25and I must confess
0:15:25 > 0:15:28I've never felt so close to someone in my life.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30He felt so vulnerable
0:15:30 > 0:15:32and so scared
0:15:32 > 0:15:34and I just tried to be his dad.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38And thankfully, after a period of about a week or something like that,
0:15:38 > 0:15:43his eye was beginning to go down.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46The treatment did appear to be working.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49It was during this first round of treatment that the hospital staff
0:15:49 > 0:15:51put Aaron in touch with Clic Sargent,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56a charity that supports families of children and young people with cancer.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59We help families in three particular ways -
0:15:59 > 0:16:03emotional, financial and practical help.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06With emotional help, we'll be there for the family
0:16:06 > 0:16:08right from the point of diagnosis,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10right through to the point at the end of treatment.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14For example, the family will be having to, in many cases,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18make very long journeys to and from the hospital for the child's treatment.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20So we've got some homes from home,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24where the family of the child can stay in comfort, very close to the hospital.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26For Aaron, that was the key.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30The family needed somewhere to stay that was close enough to get to Noah
0:16:30 > 0:16:32in a matter of minutes, day or night.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35We were then introduced to Clic Villa,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39which is a home from home, on the other side of the street from the hospital,
0:16:39 > 0:16:40where we were given a room
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and there was the chance to be close to your child
0:16:43 > 0:16:45while they're on treatment.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48The Clic Sargent team also wanted to help the Duncans get all the benefits
0:16:48 > 0:16:50they were entitled to.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Their social worker advised the family to apply for Disability Living Allowance for Noah.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Thankfully, after a three-month wait,
0:16:57 > 0:16:58the money came through.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01The award was made for 18 months.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06I think it was around £200, £300 a month.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10For six months, Noah was in and out of hospital for chemotherapy.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12And the benefits the family was receiving
0:17:12 > 0:17:15helped them juggle the expenses of normal life
0:17:15 > 0:17:16and hospital stays.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Thankfully, after 18 months,
0:17:18 > 0:17:19Noah was in remission.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22He went back to school. Aaron returned to nursing
0:17:22 > 0:17:26and the family were glad they no longer needed the Disability Living Allowance.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29The Duncan household returned to normal
0:17:29 > 0:17:30for a while.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Because just as things were settling, their world was rocked again.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39The doctor asked me if I'd noticed whether his eye
0:17:39 > 0:17:42was protruding a little bit more than before.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44I said no.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46I knew something was wrong.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50The cancer had come back. They didn't know why,
0:17:50 > 0:17:55but what it did mean was that the only way they could remove the cancer
0:17:55 > 0:17:58and basically save Noah's life
0:17:58 > 0:18:00would be to surgically remove the tumour.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04And because of where it was, again just behind the eye,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06it meant he would be losing his eye.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10After the operation, Noah had just two rounds of chemotherapy
0:18:10 > 0:18:12before he was sent home.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Physically, the healing wasn't expected to take long,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17but Noah had psychological scars
0:18:17 > 0:18:19as well as his physical wound.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21With neither parent being able to work,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25the family decided to apply for Disability Living Allowance again.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30And charity Clic Sargent introduced them to social worker Heather Wilson.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32The DLA application form
0:18:32 > 0:18:35is a lengthy form. I think it's possibly 30, 40 pages.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39The larger section is actually the care needs,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41and that will go through everything
0:18:41 > 0:18:47from how many times a child needs help and encouragement and support
0:18:47 > 0:18:49with their eating, with their washing, dressing,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53all the practical things of daily life.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55This time it was different,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59because there was a lot more psychological aspects.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01There was still the physical -
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Noah had a dressing. He wasn't able to shower himself.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Had to keep the area dry.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09You've got him getting annoyed at you
0:19:09 > 0:19:11because you're taking some of his independence away,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13because he's a nine-year-old kid now.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15And then he was scared of you touching it,
0:19:15 > 0:19:20and all of these things, so yeah, something as simple as putting a T-shirt on and off
0:19:20 > 0:19:22was taking 10, 12 minutes.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26And as well as considering the practicalities
0:19:26 > 0:19:28of caring for his nine-year-old son,
0:19:28 > 0:19:34Aaron realised Noah had huge emotional adjustments to make this time round.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36He wasn't sleeping.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38You'd send him to bed at nine o'clock
0:19:38 > 0:19:40and you'd find him at midnight reading Harry Potter.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42He was afraid to go to sleep,
0:19:42 > 0:19:48because now at the age of nine, suddenly it wasn't just the change in the way he looked,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51the loss of his eye,
0:19:51 > 0:19:52or anything like that -
0:19:52 > 0:19:56suddenly he was now thinking about his own mortality.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59And he was scared. He was scared of dying.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Having been granted the Disability Living Allowance
0:20:03 > 0:20:07the first time with no issues,
0:20:07 > 0:20:12the Duncans had no reason for concern about their second application.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15We got the letter from the DLA
0:20:15 > 0:20:16and opened it up thinking,
0:20:16 > 0:20:20here we go - it'll probably be like last time. We'll get the 18 months
0:20:20 > 0:20:23and we'll carry on and that'll help us through,
0:20:23 > 0:20:29but in the department's eyes, his care needs were not any greater than any other nine-year-old,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33so in light of that, no award was made.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35We were flabbergasted.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Heather advised the Duncans to appeal against the decision
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and after a bit of toing and froing, they were invited
0:20:42 > 0:20:44to a tribunal hearing.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46The tribunal was January this year.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49They were asking us questions about his mobility,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52the fact that he'd required a wheelchair after surgery.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57So it was really hard, because you were having to go back into a place
0:20:57 > 0:20:59which you were trying to forget about
0:20:59 > 0:21:02and a time you're trying to forget about,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05but in the same respect, some things haven't changed,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08like, psychologically, he was still finding it very difficult.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Within the space of five minutes, our representative
0:21:11 > 0:21:13was called through
0:21:13 > 0:21:15and she came back
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and informed us that the original decision was going to be over-ruled.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23We were really happy
0:21:23 > 0:21:28that finally someone believed what we were saying about our son.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Noah is now doing well.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35He's in remission and is waiting for a prosthetic eye to be made.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Noah is just absolutely amazing.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42He's back into school and he's getting back into life
0:21:42 > 0:21:45as much as he can.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49For the Duncans, I think they're almost at the stage now where they're ready to move on.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53We are stronger as a family. We're bigger than cancer. Cancer...
0:21:53 > 0:21:56I think Noah once said about cancer,
0:21:56 > 0:21:57"Beat it, cancer!"
0:21:57 > 0:22:00I'd like to hope that we have beaten it,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02not just Noah, but as a family.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05In the future, I just want to get on with it.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07I might want to be a rugby player and play for Edinburgh,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10maybe Scotland, or a football player or a goalkeeper.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14I just want to get on with my life,
0:22:14 > 0:22:16do what I want to do,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18whether it's playing rugby or playing football.
0:22:20 > 0:22:21I just want to do it.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32It's now time to return to our conmen making money they really aren't entitled to.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36For a whole decade, Conrad De Souza had been passing himself off
0:22:36 > 0:22:37as a doctor.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Not only had he indirectly put patients' health at risk,
0:22:40 > 0:22:46but he'd defrauded the NHS of more than £477,000 in earnings
0:22:46 > 0:22:48by pretending to be qualified.
0:22:50 > 0:22:51This is the kind of investigation
0:22:51 > 0:22:55we take extremely seriously, because patient safety is at stake
0:22:55 > 0:22:58when you have somebody who is not clinically qualified
0:22:58 > 0:23:00in a position where there is a risk to patients,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03even if it's not a direct risk.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05We had to act quickly.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07In December 2010,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11investigator Dave Horsley had gathered enough damning detail
0:23:11 > 0:23:13to finally pin De Souza down
0:23:13 > 0:23:17and get him to answer some very important questions.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20NHS Protect officers went to De Souza's home address
0:23:20 > 0:23:23with the police, at which point he was arrested
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and the police undertook a search of his home address
0:23:26 > 0:23:29to look for evidence that might assist our investigation.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Now they had De Souza where they wanted him,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34the team could search his property to find hard evidence
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and finally put an end to the conman's trail of deception.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40And what did you find?
0:23:40 > 0:23:44We did find at his address the University of London certificate,
0:23:44 > 0:23:51showing, or purporting to show, that he had a medical degree from them in 1981.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53- That must have been a fake, then? - Absolutely, yes.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56We were able to take that back to the University of London
0:23:56 > 0:24:02and they were able to provide examples of genuine certificates that were issued at that time
0:24:02 > 0:24:05and it was quite obvious, comparing the two,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08that Mr De Souza's one was not genuine.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12It was a great result, and just what the investigators needed.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15But it wasn't the sum total of their haul.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17We also found documents that linked him
0:24:17 > 0:24:18to the work of the Primary Care Trust,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20so we knew we'd got our right man
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and we also seized computers and laptops
0:24:23 > 0:24:25that showed the money that had been paid to him.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Now the team had the proof they needed.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31The next step was to interview De Souza.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33He had a whole heap of explaining to do.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35How did that interview go?
0:24:35 > 0:24:39He made no comment to all of the questions put to him.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42We gave him the opportunity to give an explanation for
0:24:42 > 0:24:44everything that we had uncovered
0:24:44 > 0:24:47and he chose to answer none of those questions.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51You really need something from him to explain it one way or the other, don't you?
0:24:51 > 0:24:57Absolutely. We were then faced with having to prove the offence from our perspective.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00So it's a case of looking at all the available information that's out there
0:25:00 > 0:25:03and collecting it in a form that's acceptable
0:25:03 > 0:25:05to the court as evidence
0:25:05 > 0:25:07and putting the case forward on that basis.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11De Souza was interviewed twice before his case went to court
0:25:11 > 0:25:14and given ample opportunity to explain his actions,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16but he never did.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19His lawyer offered in mitigation
0:25:19 > 0:25:24that Conrad De Souza had come from a family
0:25:24 > 0:25:26of high achievers
0:25:26 > 0:25:32and the choice of admitting to his family that he'd dropped out of medical school
0:25:32 > 0:25:36and failed to qualify as a doctor was something which he couldn't face doing.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39And sadly, he took the alternative choice,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42which was to continue the deception.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45And that choice would cost him dearly.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48In October 2011,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Conrad De Souza was charged with two counts
0:25:50 > 0:25:53of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.
0:25:53 > 0:25:59This related to his successful job applications in 2002 and 2005,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02which he secured by lying to Lewisham Primary Care Trust
0:26:02 > 0:26:05about being a qualified doctor.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07He pleaded guilty to both charges
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and was sentenced to 18 months for each offence,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12to run concurrently.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14He was also given a further nine months in prison
0:26:14 > 0:26:17for providing the CSA with a false DNA sample
0:26:17 > 0:26:21to avoid accepting his responsibilities as a father.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24So, a total of 27 months behind bars
0:26:24 > 0:26:27and a big result for Dave and the team.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30It was a very good result for NHS Protect.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34It sent out a strong message to anybody who might be thinking of defrauding the NHS -
0:26:34 > 0:26:37you get caught. Crime doesn't pay.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40You can't go around pretending to be a doctor
0:26:40 > 0:26:42or any other kind of healthcare professional.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45It's something we take very, very seriously at NHS Protect.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47As you would imagine.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Not content with the 27-month prison sentence they'd secured,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Sue Frith's team were also determined to claw back
0:26:53 > 0:26:57as much of the conman's fraudulent earnings as they could
0:26:57 > 0:26:59and put the money back in to patient care.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05How about getting that money back so it can be put to a better purpose?
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Well, there is something called the Proceeds of Crime Act that we use
0:27:09 > 0:27:13so we can look at what assets an individual has
0:27:13 > 0:27:14and how they've benefited
0:27:14 > 0:27:16from their crime financially
0:27:16 > 0:27:19and then we would look to seize their assets
0:27:19 > 0:27:22to pay back that benefit of crime into the public purse.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Although De Souza had earned nearly half a million pounds
0:27:26 > 0:27:29from his work for the NHS and Lewisham Primary Care Trust,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32at court, an agreement was reached
0:27:32 > 0:27:34that the value of his criminal benefit
0:27:34 > 0:27:37was just under £330,000.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39A free man in December 2012,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42having served just 12 months of his sentence,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Dave made sure De Souza was put back in the dock to settle his debt.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51In court, his assets were determined to be £270,000.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56So the court made an order that he should repay £270,000
0:27:56 > 0:27:58within six months,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00which we're pleased to say he did do.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02He paid it back in full.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04So De Souza's shares in his three properties were seized
0:28:04 > 0:28:09and the £18,000 he'd been looking forward to retiring to
0:28:09 > 0:28:13was also taken when the NHS clawed back his pension payments.