According to a new research, UK’s NHS is loosing as much as £3billion a year to fraudsters as millions of pounds are handed out to doctors and other medical staff working on fictitious shifts.

It was also found that the doctors are using funds meant for surgery to purchase iPods, digital cameras and computer games or pay their mortgage loans. According to the report by 2020Health, the NHS is not concerned as it is loosing so much money to fraud every year.

The study also found that huge amounts of funds are also used to treat foreign tourists, who are not legible for treatment under the NHS. The funds could be used for cancer treatment, extra nurses or even new hospitals.

The government has not cut spending for the NHS but has asked for improvement in efficiency to save about £ 20 billion by 2014 so that the funds could be infused back into better treatment and care.

Julia Manning, of 2020Health, said, “Management urgently needs to tackle fraud in an open way that inspires the confidence of the public. The first step to reducing it is to stop being in denial.”

A spokesman from NHS Protect, which is its counter-fraud service said that the unit investigates allegations of fraud and asks for punitive actions in cases where wrongdoing is found. The spokesperson added that NHS Protect successfully prosecuted over 100 cases during 2010-2011.