NHS commits to major safety drive as claims soar
November 14, 2016
The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) manages negligence and other claims against the NHS in England. It says it will push for major safety improvements going forward in a bid to enhance the quality of care and to minimise the number of negligence cases.
The Nature of the NHS’ major safety drive
To achieve the above, the NHSLA is announcing the launch of a programme. It means to enhance safety by supporting efforts to improve quality throughout the NHS.
The announcement comes in the wake of a successful £18 million funding scheme involving members of the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). This CNST aims to financially back initiatives in areas such as radiology, human factors and maternity safety.
However, despite increased efforts from the NHSLA, it would appear that medical negligence claims are set to rise in the coming years, with payouts already hitting a new peak.
Costs of claims reach new high
Between 2009/10 and 2013/14 over £79 million goes out from just one regional NHS body. The figure paid out due to errors at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals. It represents the highest total from any single trust in the UK. The sum highlights the huge amounts of money that can result from inadequate treatment or poor practices.
But in fact, it’s actually only a fraction of the overall calculation.
According to a report in the Telegraph, over £4.5 billion has been paid out in the wake of NHS ‘blunders’ over the last five years. Subsequently, almost a quarter of that amount – £1.1 billion – comes from just 20 NHS trusts.
The newspaper says that legal costs emerge as a consequence of medical bloopers and mistakes quadruple in the last decade. In particular, 10 trusts note they pay at least £55m in negligence costs over the last five years.
If you believe you could be the victim of clinical negligence, get in touch with The Medical Negligence Experts today. We can talk through your case with you in detail, and see how much compensation you can claim.
To get in touch, call us free on 0800 223 0341. We look forward to helping you!