1.2 billion: The cost of clinical negligence at the NHS over a 2 year period

The NHS Litigation Authority has released new figures which show that medical blunders have cost the NHS 1.2 billion over the past two years. Nearly half of the damages were paid out for mistakes maternity units, which are clearly overextended. Compensation was also paid for cases where patients lost their lives as a result of negligence, and where children were left with severe disabilities such as brain damage.

Across the country, NHS trusts paid out 650 million in the last financial year, an increase of 15% compared with the previous 12 months. In London, the bill for clinical negligence was 126 million, up around 30% on the previous year. Barking, Havering & Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust had the worst record in the capital, paying out a total of 11 million (they are currently under investigation by the Care Quality Commission). Following closely behind was Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, paying out 10.7 million.

Campaigners have warned that the Government’s proposed NHS reforms will see standards of care slip further, which will lead to an increase in the cost of litigation. Problems have been attributed primarily to a lack of staff, whilst the rising costs of treatment means that medical negligence payouts are higher now than they were in the past.

A statement was released by Barking, Havering and Redbridge, citing their size and workload as factors that explain why their compensation bill has been so high. They also have one of the biggest maternity units in the country, which, they argue, increases the likelihood of high-cost settlements. An Imperial spokesperson said that the trust “deals with complex cases referred from other trusts in the country such as maternity and vascular surgery, as well as major trauma, and many of these are high risk patients undergoing high risk procedures.”

Regardless of these explanations, numerous lives have been destroyed as a result of botched medical procedures carried out by the NHS.

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